Innocence's True Form
by Innocent heart2
Summary: One morning, Allen Walker awakens to find that his Innocence is missing from his body. This development puts the entire Order through something completely shocking. Pairings unknown as of now. Rated T for safety.
1. Innocence, where art thou?

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with -Man. If I did the Central wouldn't exist and Leverrier would be dead. **

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_**Innocence's True Form**_

It was a normal morning for the Black Order. Komui had already annoyed half of the order in the cafeteria about leaving his darling Lenalee alone. Lavi, who had destroyed Jerry's room again, made yet another failed breakfast for himself and was sulking while eating. Kanda stumbled into the room and slowly made his groggy body move towards Jerry's window. When Chaoji rushed up to him with his normal perky morning self, Kanda scowled at him and collapsed onto the poor guy's shoulder.

"Poor Kanda with his low morning blood sugar…" Lavi grinned.

At that moment was when Krory would walk in and yawn, spooking whatever new finder was near him. Miranda was next. She would slowly sneak in and fret over what she would get for breakfast. Eventually, Jerry just placed a plate of waffles in front of her and sent her to eat. She trotted over and sat next to Marie who had just started his morning meal. Finally, Lenalee would trot into the room, still half asleep, and order herself something to eat. Everyone in the room always came in early in fear that Allen Walker would accidentally eat all the food. It didn't matter how early they came though. Allen would always beat them there. However, he was always kind enough to only eat a plate at a time so to be sure that everyone got something to eat.

Lavi was the first to notice something different. For whatever reason, Allen hadn't shown up yet. Also, there was another thing that was bugging him. There was a new man sitting in the corner dress in neither the finder nor scientist outfit. The only explanation was that he was a new exorcist but why hadn't he introduced himself. He found it just a little bizarre.

"Hey, has anyone seen Allen this morning?" Lavi finally voiced, turning his attention back to his friends.

Everyone quickly looked around and gasped. Allen never had missed a meal. N-E-V-E-R.

"I'll go check his room!" Lenalee nearly shouted, jumping up.

At that moment, the most painful and horrifying scream filled the entire order. All of the order froze. Where they under attack again? Did a Noah slip in and kill someone? Did someone accidentally activate Sir Komlin the nth? While everyone was worrying about the many possibilities, Allen made his appearance. Quickly making his way over to his friends' table, Allen grabbed Kanda by his collar with his right hand.

"Why'd you do it, Bakanda!" the young boy shouted in Kanda's face.

"What are you accusing me of?" Kanda snapped.

"Don't play freaking dumb, Bakanda! I know you did it!" Allen shouted even louder.

"Whoa! Calm down Allen!" everyone else yelled.

Lenalee rushed to all and, without looking, reached out to grab his left hand. But her hand never touched it. His arm was gone. His tattoos from his innocence were even gone.

"Allen! Where's you're arm!" Lenalee shrieked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out!" Allen yelled.

"I didn't cut it off if that's what you're thinking, Moyashi!" Kanda spat back.

"Allen, I'm pretty sure that he's telling the truth!" Lavi interjected.

Reluctantly, Allen let go of Kanda and slumped into a chair. He placed his only arm on the table and stared down at the ground. Lenalee kneeled in front of the frightened boy.

"Tell what happened this morning," Lenalee said gently.

"I don't know," Allen whispered, "I woke up late. I-I remember thinking to myself that it was weird that I didn't wake up on time. Then when I sat up, I didn't feel that hungry. Like a piece of toast was enough to fill me up. Then I went to rub my left arm and it wasn't there."

"Maybe," Chaoji thought out loud, "Komui had something to do with this."

Every head turned to Komui who froze.

"D-don't look at me! I can't remove a parasitic type's innocence no matter how much I want to! All I can do is repair them!" Komui defended.

Allen slowly stood up causing Komui to instantly to freak out. The armless boy slowly made his way passed the shrieking science chief and out the door.

"Where are you going, Allen?" Miranda asked.

"To go see Hevlaska. Maybe this is a sign of some sort," Allen said, pausing in the doorway, "or maybe I'm not the right accommodator for the Crown Clown…"

Lenalee was the first to run after him. Everyone else, including Kanda, followed at a distance. They were all worried. This very well have been a sign that the worst possible thing was about to happen. The group shivered. That couldn't happen. If it ever did… They all looked at Allen. What if…What if he truly was changing in a Noah? What if they lost him? Allen was such a powerful exorcist even though he was only 15. He and his cursed eye helped so much on the battlefield. His innocence could take out 15-20 akuma in a single attack plus his eye could detect all akuma within a 5 mile radius. Those two things helped out so much that they all agreed that they couldn't lose him. Of course, there were others in the order who wanted him for the things that were condemning him. Howard Link and Malcolm C. Leverrier from the Central Agency were two of such people. They only wanted to keep him as an exorcist because Allen was the pianist for the Ark that they stole from the Millennium Earl. They knew that there was a chance that he would turn into a Noah but only cared about the fact that they could use the Ark until that day happened. Then they were going to kill him.

Lavi suddenly felt heaviness on his chest. Bookman, who was out recording a different war for a while, had always told him to never get to close to humans but unfortunately that advice could never be followed. Lavi smiled for a second. He had completely given up on his fellow humans thinking that the only thing that they knew how to do was to fight with each other. But after spending the past years at the Order, Lavi finally realized something he had long forgotten. He too was human so like a human Lavi sought out several things. He sought at to fill the need of hunger, thirst, and of course companions. All humans needed some other people in there lives. If that need wasn't fulfilled, a human would go crazy. Lavi was no different. He needed these people in his life. They were his friends. Lavi almost laughed. If Bookman was there he'd probably would have beat Lavi senseless then dragged him out of the Order.

The group of young people finally made it to Hevlaska's chamber. Kanda sighed. Why was he following that Moyashi? Kanda looked up at the young boy and noticed that he seemed to be limping. That occurred as strange to him. Moyashi and he had been "training" together the night before and the Moyashi had been jumping around constantly with no problem. If he had pulled a muscle, Moyashi would have said something while they were "training". The boy wasn't one to continue to work his body when he was in pain unless he had to like trying to regain his innocence or fight akuma…okay…training was the only time he didn't. Kanda stared at the young exorcist. Maybe this was more serious than they all thought.

Allen leaned on the railing next to Hevlaska to catch his breath. This wasn't right. There was no reason that he should have been winded already. The last time he lost his arm, he could do just as much if not more exorcise wise. So why was he so tired from just walking from the cafeteria to Hevlaska's chamber. Allen looked up at Hevlaska who just stared down at all of her visitors.

"What brings you all here so early in the morning?" Hevlaska asked the group.

"Hevlaska, when I awoke this morning, my left arm was gone. Please, can you tell me why that is?" Allen questioned.

Slowly, Allen was lifted up by Hevlaska. He felt what he had felt the first day at the Order. With him being a parasitic type exorcist, Hevlaska had to probe his body to determine what was wrong. It had felt weird and a little bit painful that first time and it felt the same way this time. But something was different. His heart was pounding so hard. It hadn't done that the first time. All of the sudden, his body screamed out in pain in rejection to Hevlaska's probing. Allen couldn't help but let out a bloody curdling scream. It was so painful. His mind raced. Was he truly becoming a Noah? Did the Noah inside of him want out? Was that the reason that his innocence left his body! Allen screamed out louder as Hevlaska's probing got closer to his heart. Was he going to die? After all he had suffered through, was he going to actually die? Allen closed his eyes to try to keep his tears from flowing. This wasn't fair…

"Hevlaska! Put him down!" yelled out a new voice.

Hevlaska turned her head to face the entrance of her chamber. Everyone else followed her line of sight and saw a man with thick brown hair walking up to them. He wore almost exactly what Allen wore only a little better. He was apparently very fit and wore a sense of pride.

"That's the guy I noticed this morning," Lavi whispered to himself.

"Hevlaska, you need to put that boy down." the man stated.

He hid most of his face from view of the rest of them. Hevlaska paused for a moment then slowly and gently put Allen on the ground. The second his body was on the ground, Allen gasped and grasped his chest. The pain was still racing through his body. What was this pain? Why did the probing hurt so much? The man knelt next to Allen and placed his right hand over his.

"You okay, baka?" he asked.

Allen shook his head no. His body felt painful and heavy. His mind and heart were racing. Allen was scared beyond belief. He wasn't scared of death but of becoming a Noah.

"Hey, calm down, baka," the man said, "Relax. You're not changing into a Noah. Trust me on that."

"H-How do you know that!" Allen snapped, instantly regretting it when his throat burned.

The man just smirked and rolled up his left sleeve. Everyone gasped. There on that man was Allen's arm. What was going on? Why had his arm joined up with a different man? Was Allen no longer the Crown Clown's accommodator?

"Relax baka. This arm is still your arm," the man stated.

"How is that?" Lavi snapped, "His arm is on your body!"

The man just smirked and stood up to face all of Allen's friends.

"Take a good look at my face," the man smirked.

They all were thoroughly confused but did as they were told. When they looked at him, they all couldn't help but feel like they had seen his face before but none could figure it out. Lenalee gasped and pointed a shaky hand at the man.

"Y-You look like Allen!" she gasped.

"Huh?" the rest gasped and looked closer at the man, "You're right!"

"Of course I look like that baka," the man chuckled, "I'm his innocence."

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_**Mizu: I've been so caught up in finding and typing up An Innocent Heart that I completely forgot about this story of mind. This has nothing to do with Timothy's innocence. I started this a couple of months before I found out about Timothy and his special Innocence. The idea of a human formed Innocence stuck in my head and I couldn't get it out. As always, reviews, be they praise or flames or critics, are very welcomed and encouraged.**_


	2. To those that fell by his hand

_**Mizu: Well, this chapter is done. Took longer than I thought and is shorter than I would like but oh well. Disclaimer time. I don't own -Man. If I did, there would be more girl exorcist with amazing powers and don't get depressed over every little thing. **_

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_**Innocence's True Form...**_

**_Chapter two; To those that fell by his hand..._**

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"Th-That's impossible!" Allen shouted, and again, instantly regretting it.

The second after he voice his opinion, Allen's body voiced its own. As another wave of horrendous pain shot through him from his toes to his hair, Allen suddenly started coughing up blood. Allen's eyes widened with fear. He shot his terrified look toward his comrades. Was this really happening? Did he really just lose his innocence and now was he going to die?

"Baka!" the man nearly shouted.

The man knelt by Allen and placed his left hand on Allen's chest. Suddenly the cross imbedded in the man's hand started to shine a brilliant green. The man slowly added more pressure onto Allen's chest. Allen's friends watched in horror to what was happening in front of them.

"Now just relax, baka," the man gently whispered.

Allen looked at the man. For some reason, he felt the sudden urge to listen to the man. To follow his instructions. To let this man lead him. After a couple of seconds, Allen relinquished himself to that feeling. It couldn't end up being worse than the pain he felt right then anyways.

"Good," the man smiled, "Now stay that way for a moment."

The man slowly lifted his hand from Allen's chest. The man closed his eyes to focus on some unseen thing. The room filled with an eerie, silent, tension. His friends started at the two. What was going on? Suddenly, another brilliant green light started to shine. The difference this time was that it was coming from Allen's chest, shining even brighter than the man's hand.

Slowly but surely, the pain left Allen's face. His heavy breathing slowly mellowed out as the light slowly began to fade. The man, once Allen seemed to be healed from whatever had tortured his body, stood up and tugged on the white haired boy's right arm to pull him up.

"W-What the hell…" Komui muttered, "What are you?"

"I told you," the man smirked, "I'm his innocence."

"Th-that's impossible," Allen stuttered, "There's no way that-"

"Why on this living planet not?" the man questioned, "Innocence has always cause some strange phenomenon wherever they are, correct?"

"Y-yeah but they-" Lavi started to protest.

"You don't know that," the man interrupted, "Hevlaska can even tell you that herself. Innocence can take on a human form once their accommodators have finally linked with them fully."

"Th-then the generals-" Lenalee gasped.

"No." the man spat.

"Huh?"

"The generals can do no such thing," the man stated.

"But they are the only ones who have surpassed hundred percent synchronization rate!" Komui shouted, "If not them, then who?"

"Like I said," the man said, pasting one of Allen's smiles on his face, "Only when the accommodator and innocence have become fully linked. Allen and I have been for some time now."

"E-Evolution?" Lenalee gasped again, "Like when my dark boots accepted my resolve?"

"Closer but no," the man sighed, shaking his head, "Allen and I have been fully linked for some time but it did not happen when he found my true form nor when he broke through the critical point."

"Then when!" Allen demanded, "This isn't making any sense!"

"We became fully linked the second you first activated me of your own free will," the man stated, staring into Allen's eyes, "The day you destroyed Narien's akuma."

"Wh-What?" Allen gasped.

"Don't you find it even a little odd how even after a Noah "destroyed" me, you were still able to regain me?" the man asked.

"Y-yeah but-"

"Or how I filled that hole in your heart? Not even parasitic types have been able to do that. Innocence cannot normally save their accommodators from such things," the man continued, "Yet I did."

Allen gulped.

"What about the many different forms I took before you found my true form? I reformed myself a million times over to match your emotions beyond what even normal parasitic types should be able to do," the man added, "Yet _**we**_ did."

"You make no fuckin' sense!" Kanda cursed.

"How Mugen puts up with you I have no idea," the man sighed, "Look I'll put this in terms even you'll be able to understand. Being fully linked has nothing to do with synchro-rate. It's all about whether or not you are the true accommodator of the innocence."

"True accommodator?" Chaoji questioned.

"Now, wait just a second!" Krory snapped, "I thought innocence wouldn't bond anyone that isn't a compatible with it!"

"True," the man stated, "but we can be compatible with someone but they may not be able to wield us in the way that we were meant to be. They can use us but that's all. No dependability. No continuous movements. Rash attacks through the limited connection that has been established between the two. Extremely shortened lives. In fact, that's why most parasitic types die so quickly. They aren't the true accommodator for their innocence."

"What?" Allen gasped, "So you aren't draining my life force?"

"…I am," the man said quietly, "but no where near the frightening levels of most parasitic wielders. I will not drain you to the point where you die. I use below the bare minimum now that I have entered my true form. Should you not do something stupid, you should live a long life, baka."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Allen snapped.

"Cause your stupid actions," the man chuckled, "I turn my back for a couple of minutes and you disappear."

"Like you're one to talk! I woke up and you weren't even connected to my body anymore!" Allen shouted, "If you could have taken this form at any time then why didn't you when Tyki was tearing you off?"

"Ah yes, that whole thing," the man grinned nervously, "Well, I didn't want to show this ability to the Earl just yet."

"Bull crap!" Allen screamed.

"Excuse me but," Miranda spoke up, "Can y-you finish ex-explaining e-e-everything?"

"Oh, right. Well, if you are a true accommodator like Allen is with me, then you just have to wait until you have fully linked together," the man stated, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That explains a lot!" everyone shouted angrily.

"To become fully linked, you and your innocence must share the _**exact**_ same dream. Your emotions must be one. Every movement between the two will come as second nature. What the accommodator's senses detect, the innocence does as well and vice versa. No pain comes from wielding your innocence. No doubt in abilities that have yet to be tested," the man listed off, "Willing to go through hell and back to save one another if one can. Can pull the other from the brink of death in a millisecond."

The man paused to stared up at Hevlaska, "And finally, the innocence will be able to show itself in its truest form. This human form that I have taken up is the truest form."

"But I thought the innocence crystals were the purest form," Lavi muttered.

"They are in a sense," the man stated, "But our human form is what we long for."

"Why is that, Crown Clown?" Allen asked, placing his right hand on his innocence's shoulder.

"I was wondering when you were going to address me with that foolish name," Crown Clown chuckled.

"Is there something else to call you by?" Allen questioned.

"Unfortunately no," the man laughed, "Why, you ask?"

Everyone stared at the man/innocence's back. They all could feel their hair raising on end but couldn't figure out why.

"It is simply because we were the first to fall," the man said sadly, "The one hundred and nine pieces of Innocence were all the first to fall at the hand of the Millennium Earl."

"Huh?" most of the group questioned, confused by the man's statement.

"No way…" Allen gasped, eye's widening in understanding.

"Yes, Allen," the man smiled, "You can see my memories. You can feel my experiences, can't you? You know exactly what I was."

Allen quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He was going to be sick. All of Crown Clown's memories were starting to flash in front of his eyes until they stopped on one particular one. He didn't care about the tears that started to leak from his eyes. It was just to painful to watch. It the most awful thing he had ever seen. No. That was a lie and he knew it.

"Allen?" Lenalee questioned.

"That's why you seek them out," Allen muttered, "That's why you can destroy akuma even without your accommodator's consent."

The Crown Clown just nodded.

"What are you talking about, Moyashi?" Kanda demanded.

"Innocence were the very first to fall to the Millennium Earl," Allen repeated, "They were the first one hundred and nine souls that he came to in their darkest moments."

All eye's widened. They couldn't have, could they? There was no way that that was true…right?

"N-No way," Lavi gasped.

"It is true," Crown Clown said, "We were the first to allow the Earl to use us. He came to each of us and tricked us into bringing our dead love's ones back. To bring them back only to trap them in those torturous bodies and to die ourselves."

"S-So those that-"

"Don't even start to think that!" Crown Clown snapped, "No. We hundred and nine were the only ones that were granted the right to come back and try and save this world from the Earl. The souls of the slain stopped becoming innocence once the Heart decided that our number was enough."

"The Heart?" the exorcists gasped.

"Yes. She was given the ability to decide who would become innocence. We were chosen due to our deep hatred towards the man that tricked us and who was torturing our loved ones," the Crown Clown growled, "After us, everyone that had fallen to him filled their minds with guilt and regrets. Those feelings would have been worthless against the Earl."

"So you know who the Heart is?" Komui questioned hopeful.

"Yes but I am not allowed to tell your which piece she is," the Crown Clown, "She wishes to remain hidden so she can fight along side with us."

"Yes," Komui nodded, "I understand."

"Thank you," Crown Clown smiled, "Now, Allen, let's get you back to the cafeteria and fill your stomach! I know you don't feel hungry like normal but you still have to eat just as much."

"R-Right," Allen agreed, "I'll meet up with you guys later!"

"Bye!"

Allen slowly followed his innocence out the door and to the elevator. He stayed silent until he knew no one would be able to hear him.

"You didn't tell them everything, right?" Allen questioned.

"They didn't need to know that fact yet," the Crown Clown sighed.

"You're right," Allen sighed as well, "They didn't need to know that you aren't just any innocence. You were the second piece."

'And the brother of the Heart and right-hand man; her personal guard,' Allen thought to himself, knowing all to well that Crown Clown heard them in his own skull.

"Hush, baka," the Crown Clown chuckled, "Now isn't the time to talk."

"Right," Allen stated stepping out of the elevator, "but you better explain everything to me later.

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_**Mizu: Not much to say right now. Um…Will try to update sooner this time…hm…Will try and do a major plot twist somewhere in the near future…will bring Link back in soon. I think that's it. Okay, remember that all reviews are loved! They bring sweet inspiration! Just like watching Yuu-chan acting Lavi or Tiedoll for something stupid. **_

_**Kanda: Yuu-Chan? NOW YOU ARE DOING IT TOO!**_

_**Mizu: *laughs evilly* Oops! A mere slip of the tongue, BaKanda.**_

_**Kanda: I'll rip that filthy tongue right out of your mouth! *chases Mizu out of the room***_

_**Allen: Mizu is really weird…She knows Kanda hates that name and never calls him it. **_

_**Lavi: She just wants that precious inspiration that she said would come from Yuu's murderous rage. **_

_**Allen: Please review so that we don't have to go clean her blood off of the wall.**_

_**Mizu: *says through a random golem* Ciao for now, peoples!**_


	3. Another Awakens

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**Mizu: Another chapter completed! I hope you like it! Disclaimer time: I don't own -Man. If I did, Kanda wouldn't have been the one that nearly ended Allen's time as an exorcist.**

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Innocence's True Form

_**Chapter three: Another Awakens**_

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"Allen!" Lavi called as he trotted up to the feasting boy.

Allen tried to looked up at the redhead as he entered the cafeteria only to have another plate of food shoved in his face. Glaring at his innocence, Allen continued to try and fill his bottomless pit of a stomach. The Crown Clown smirked from his seat on the table and then turned his attention to the young bookman. He smiled when he spotted Lavi's innocence.

"What can I do for you?" the Crown Clown questioned.

"I was wondering if you could answer some of my questions," Lavi stated, sitting across from Allen, "That old panda would kill me if I didn't get as much info as possible."

"Panda? Oh! The old man!" The Crown Clown exclaimed, glancing back at Allen who had stopped eating for a second, "Keep eating, baka."

"What? I've never eaten this much before! Why do I have to now!" Allen demanded.

"Cause I was being nice and holding back my energy needs so that your body wouldn't have so much stress put on it," the Crown Clown stated, "But now I'm in need for a lot of energy."

"But can't you just eat now?" Lavi questioned.

"It's not that simple. Yeah, I can eat a little but my form can't process a lot of food," the Crown Clown sighed, "Plus most of my energy has to be my wielders or I can't use it. That's just how it is. His body has to process it then I use it."

"I can't take another bite…" Allen groaned, looking at the towering stacks of unfinished food.

"You'll eat it even if I have to force it down your throat!" the Crown Clown snapped.

"So I take it that this new form uses a lot more energy than your other forms," Lavi stated.

"No," the Crown Clown stated, shoving four sticks of dango into Allen's mouth, "I'm trying to store some energy now that I have this form."

"Store it?" both boys questioned.

"Yes. That way you don't have to worry about running out of steam for the next battle you're in and I can stay in this form for a much longer period of time," the Crown Clown explained.

"That's one thing I'd like to know, C.C. Why did you choose now to appear in your truest form?" Lavi questioned.

"C.C.?" the Crown Clown questioned.

"It's easier than saying Crown Clown all of the time," Lavi beamed.

"So you've given me a nickname just like baka here," C.C. stated.

"Hey!" Allen snapped only to have a fork full of spaghetti to be shoved into his mouth.

"To answer your question, look at Allen. How old is he?" C.C. smirked.

"Sixteen," Lavi answered.

"Yes. Six-_**teen,**_" C.C. stated, "He's a teenager."

"So?" both questioned.

"Puberty?" C.C. asked.

The two teens looked at each other and then at the man sitting on the table confused. C.C. sighed. Why did he have to explain such things?

"For a bookman, Lavi, you tend to be pretty dense," C.C. sighed, "Look. Baka here is going through puberty, right?"

"Right," the boys agreed.

"Baka, less talk, more eat," C.C. ordered, "Anyways, that's normally a pretty stressful time on the mind and body by itself, right?"

"Sure," Lavi chuckled.

"But imagine it for a parasitic type wielder. Their bodies are already pushed far beyond their limits that they should be able to handle," C.C. explained, "Now, a parasitic type that hasn't become fully linked with it's accommodator will normally just lower their synchronization and rarely be able to activate. Hevlaska will also very often remove the innocence from the accommodator's body to limit the amount of stress.

But for those that have fully linked together, these situations can be extremely dangerous for the accommodator. The lowering of the synchronization can cause the wielder to be very weak, sickly, and often passing out. When the innocence is removed by Hevlaska, the accommodator, in the best of conditions, will go into a coma the second their innocence is separated from their body. Under all other conditions, the accommodator would either become almost completely paralyzed or die."

Allen nearly choked on a roll, "W-What?"

"It's true," C.C. stated, staring at the white haired boy, "Besides, should Hevlaska ever remove me from you, even if we weren't fully linked, you'd die."

"W-Why's that?" the teenagers demanded.

C.C. just tapped Allen's chest above his heart, "That, baka. That hole in your heart that part of me sits in. If I would leave your body, you'd die almost instantly."

"B-But-" Allen started to question.

"No, baka. Me being in my human form is far different. I'm still completely connected to you. If I really needed to, I could change back into your arm in an instant and be at your side," C.C. smiled, "But there is a set back from me being in this form."

"What is it?" Lavi questioned.

"Should Allen ever get further than about a quarter mile away, he'll start to go into shock and extreme pain," C.C. stated, a serious gleam in his eyes.

"But I wasn't that far from you in Hevlaska's chamber!" Allen snapped.

"True but the probing from Hevlaska hurts if you are an accommodator and you don't have your innocence," C.C. chuckled, "She was searching for innocence in your body when there wasn't much. So your body was sending out distress signals to me trying to get me back. The piece of me in your heart was responding to Hevlaska fully while also trying to pull me back into your body."

C.C. smiled as he ruffled Allen's hair, "Plus your body is under so much stress that any distance between us could cause some pain."

Allen pouted and picked up another plate before closing his eyes. There was no way that that was everything but he chose not to dwell on it. He instead decided to try and sift through some of the Crown Clown's memories for a bit while Lavi questioned his innocence.

"So, C.C., can you tell when an accommodator and innocence are about to become fully linked?" Lavi questioned.

"Yes. Yes I can," C.C. smirked.

"Then who do you think will be the next one to fully link?" Lavi asked, eye sparkling.

"Uh…Well, Timothy's innocence is rather close to linking with him," C.C. thought aloud, "I know that he can see his innocence in it's human form but I think it will probably be after he passes through puberty before they fully link."

"What about Lenalee? She's the first ever crystal type," Lavi pointed out.

"No, although she's a lot closer than Timothy," C.C. sighed, "She still hasn't fully come to grips with the Dark Boots feelings. Dreams and wishes are the same but emotions still need work."

"Then who!" Lavi fidgeted in his seat.

"Well, I'd have to say that either Kanda and Mugen or Miranda and Time Record," C.C. stated, "Though, I'm willing to put money down on the first of the two. Miranda is still extremely paranoid about everything."

"So Mugen or Time Record…interesting," Lavi pondered, "What about Kuro-chan's? What will happen when they do?"

"Krory and his Vampire Fangs? He'll probably take some of Krory's blood and a lot of akuma's blood to form his body. Can't really take out his teeth," C.C. laughed.

"But you can take my arm?" Allen snapped.

"Ah, so you're finally finished!" C.C. clapped, "Let's go then."

"Go where?" Allen questioned as C.C. dragged the poor boy out of the cafeteria.

"To the bathhouse," C.C. smirked, "I've been dieing for a bath for so long!"

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Lavi waited until the two finally disappeared down the hallway before sprinting for Komui's office. He couldn't wait to tell everyone what he had found out. Especially Miranda and Kanda. This was turning out to be a great day.

"Guys!" Lavi shouted as he bounded through the messing office.

"What did you find out, Lavi?" Komui questioned.

"C.C. can tell when an accommodator and innocence are about to fully link!" Lavi exclaimed, waving his arms excitedly.

"C.C.?" Marie questioned.

"Probably Crown Clown," Krory stated.

"So who's next?" Lenalee asked, fidgeting on the edge of her seat.

"Either Kanda and Mugen," Lavi said, an evil smirk growing upon his face, "Or Miranda and Time Record."

"I knew you couldn't keep your mouth shut," C.C.'s voice sighed from the doorway.

Everyone slowly turned to see Allen stretching tiredly while C.C. leaned against the doorway. Lavi gulped as he caught sight of C.C.'s guard.

"Um…ah…you see," Lavi tried to explain.

Allen smirked and plopped down on the couch. He crossed his legs and watched the scene unfold. Lavi was desperately trying to explain himself to his innocence while C.C. held onto his glare. Biting down on his lip, Allen struggled not to laugh. He let his eyes drift over to where Kanda was standing, suppressing his own laugh. Never did he think that he'd ever see the day when Kanda would laugh. Still didn't but now it didn't seem so unreal. Closing his eyes, Allen chuckled and tried to relax.

Suddenly, he felt a sudden rush of power flood his system. Snapping his eyes open he jumped up and turned to his innocence. Both accommodator and weapon stared at each other before their eyes widened through some sort of secret understanding. The two quickly made their way over to Kanda, who was now almost interested in the two.

"What do you want, Moyashi?" Kanda sighed.

"Activate Mugen," Allen and C.C. ordered.

"What?" Kanda questioned.

"Just do it!" they snapped, "We want to see if we were right about something!"

Sighing, Kanda slowly unsheathed Mugen. It felt a little lighter than usual. If that wasn't weird enough, it seemed to be pulsing a little. Raising an eyebrow, Kanda activated his innocence.

There was a sudden, bright, blue light that filled the office. Everyone ducked to behind whatever they could to shield their eyes. What was going on?

"Finally," a feminine voice sighed, "I thought he'd never figure this stuff out."

* * *

_**Mizu: Sorry for the short chapter. I've been so busy with everything this past week that i haven't had anytime to type. I know that today isn't Innocence's True Form's day but I haven't had a chance to upload it until now. I hope you guys enjoy!**_

**_Lavi: So Kanda's was next. When is it going to be Miranda's turn?_**

**_Mizu: Soon. I'm really gonna like hers. *semi-evil laughter*_**

**_Allen: A feminine voice...*snickers* I knew it..._**

**_C.C.: Remember, baka, nothing is ever set in stone._**

**_Mizu: Actually, that is. _**

**_Kanda: What the fuckin' hell?_**

**_Mizu: Remember I welcome all types of reviews. Ciao for now!_**


	4. Bloody Tears

**_Mizu: Yay! Another chapter done! I had such a huge freakin' writer's block for this story until now! Yay for random as crud debates in school! Disclaimer time. I don't own -Man. If I did, then Neah and Mana probably wouldn't have such girlish names._**

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Four: Bloody Tears**_

* * *

"So I was right," C.C. said, sounding a little smug, "It's good to see you again, Mugen."

As the light faded, Mugen's human form was slowly revealed to the exorcists. Just like the Crown Clown, Mugen looked very similar to Kanda. The main difference between the two was that while Kanda looked quite feminine, there was absolutely no doubt that Mugen was a girl. Kanda's tough eyes on her were slightly softer and kinder. She still looked like Kanda but the differences were still _**very**_ obvious.

"Strike!" Lavi shouted out before he could stop himself, "Shit…"

Mugen glanced over to where the now cowering Bookman was at and smiled, "That's quite alright, Lavi."

"Huh?" the room gaped.

"Just don't ever think about even living to say that again should you slip up again," Mugen said, smiling one of Allen's famous poker smiles.

"Ah, you haven't changed a bit, my dear Mugen," C.C. chuckled.

"Is that really you?" Mugen gasped happily.

"It is," C.C. smiled.

Mugen flung herself into C.C. and proceeded to suffocate the poor man, "It's so great to see you again!" "M-Mugen…can't…b-breathe," C.C. gasped for breath.

"Oh!" she gasped as she dropped C.C., "Oopsie!"

Allen and Kanda just stood next to each other with their eye's twitching.

"Oi, Moyashi," Kanda stated.

"What is it BaKanda?" Allen answered.

"Can you tell what the hell is going on between those two?"

"Yes," Allen sighed, "Can you?"

"Unfortunately yes," Kanda mumbled.

"This is so wrong…" Allen whimpered.

"You're telling me," Kanda agreed.

"Oh? You two finally getting along?" Mugen giggled, looking back at their wielders, "It's about time!"

"I don't think that's it, Mugen," C.C. chuckled.

"True," Mugen agreed, smiling happily, "So you know my current name, what about yours?"

"At times, I worry about that thick skull you've got their, sweetie," C.C. sighed.

"Sweetie?" the exorcists minus Kanda and Allen gaped.

"Oh yes, I haven't told you people yet, have I?" C.C. questioned.

"Tell us what?" Lenalee questioned.

"That Mugen and I at one time were an item," C.C. smirked, holding Mugen close to his person.

Allen's face flushed bright red as his head was suddenly filled with C.C.'s memories, "Stop thinking those things!"

"Oops, sorry baka!" C.C. smiled.

Allen looked up at Kanda's face and was relieved to see he wasn't the only one embarrassed by their innocence. He felt his face grow hotter at the wording of his last thought. That was the last thing the two in front of them were. Neither Mugen nor C.C. were innocent beings.

"Anyways, my sweet Mugen, my current name is Crown Clown," C.C. stated to the woman.

"Crown Clown?…Hm…well it's better than your last couple of names," Mugen smirked.

"What was his last name?" Allen asked before he could stop himself.

"Virgin White," Mugen said with a dark smirk on her face.

"Mugen!" C.C. whined, "Don't tell them anymore!"

"Alright sweetheart," Mugen laughed softly, "but you'll have to make it up to me later."

"Eh? I c-can't do that yet!" C.C. complained to his once lover.

"Why on this bloody Earth not?" Mugen fumed, stomping her feet.

"Allen's too young," C.C. pointed out.

"Huh? Wh-what's that got to do with anything?" Allen stuttered.

"If we really do what we want to do, we might put to much stress on the poor boy's body. He's only sixteen, my love," C.C. explained.

"But it's been so long!" Mugen whined.

"Think about your accommodator," C.C. pleaded, "Even though he's not a parasitic type it will still put a lot of stress on him. He's only what? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Nineteen," Mugen sighed, "But what if we-"

"_**Hell no!**_" Kanda and Allen shouted on the top of lungs.

"Fooey…It's so hard to hide these things from those two…" Mugen pouted.

"You probably just forget to shield your thoughts from him," C.C. comforted, "Remember, it has been a very long time since we've both had true accommodators."

"You're right," Mugen sighed happily, wrapping her arms around C.C., "I guess I can just be happy with being in your arms for now."

"That's my girl," C.C. sighed happily, holding his love tight.

"So if you two were…are lovers," Krory thought out loud.

"Then wouldn't Kanda and Allen be-" Komui added.

"_**No way in hell would that ever happen!**_" the two boys shouted on top of their lungs once more.

"Why would I put up with someone as cold-hearted as Kanda for a lover?" Allen snapped, trying to ignore his dark blush.

"Besides," Kanda sighed, "there's no way that Moyashi here would be top like his innocence."

"What's that supposed to me?" Allen demanded, turning his anger away from the rest of the group and back towards the samurai.

"What do you think, Moyashi?" Kanda smirked, "There's no way in hell that I'd be the uke."

"Uke?" Allen repeated out loud.

"He means bottom, baka," C.C. smirked.

"So that means…oh gawd!" Allen screamed, jumping away from Kanda, "What makes you think that I'd be the "uke" anyways?"

"You're younger than me, shorter, girlier," Kanda stated, enjoying Allen's pissed off expressions, "Plus there's no way that you'd overpower me and take me. That's the only you'd ever top and we all know that that would never happen."

Allen, upon locking eyes with Kanda, dived under Komui's desk and hid under the outrageous amount of paper there. Mugen broke out in laughter as C.C. sighed at his accommodator's strange behavior.

"Looks like your wielder suits your old name so much better than you ever did!" Mugen laughed loudly.

"That he does," C.C. agreed.

"So sweetheart," Mugen smirked, "Why have you finally awaken to your true form?"

"Huh?" everyone, excluding Allen, gaped.

"Wh-What do you mean-" C.C. started to fake.

"Don't play the fake card with me. Ever since Kanda here made me injure you that day, I've known that you and that brat there have been fully linked. You could have saved that boy so much trouble by revealing this to him sooner," Mugen said, glaring at her lover.

"I-I…I was afraid…" C.C. admitted.

"Afraid of what?" Lavi questioned.

"Allen becoming extremely cocky in his abilities. He had never really seen battle before we got to the order," C.C. explained, "Yeah Cross threw us out into the battle as soon as it started but that still wasn't anything like what he would experience later on."

"So you were trying to protect the boy from the inevitable," Mugen stated, "Seems kinda pointless, doesn't it?"

"Not really," C.C. smiled, "Allen's had to go through so much more than anyone in this order would have ever imagined."

"What?" Miranda questioned.

"With his curse, I was afraid that if I should show myself before he got the feel for the real battles, he'd have been worse off," C.C. stated, walking over to Komui's desk, "You all know how he thinks he can save everyone in the world. Believe it or not, after he destroyed Narien,that belief was a million times stronger. It took so long for Cross to knock some sense into him that there was no way that he'd be able to do that."

"Crown Clown?" Allen questioned from under the desk.

C.C. smiled and held out a hand for Allen. The teen slowly took it and let his innocence help him up. He could feel his eyes start to get heavy. Everything that had happen today had really taken their toll on him. Maybe it was time for a nap.

"Why don't you lay down on the couch, baka?" C.C. asked, leading the small teen over to said couch, "This has to be a lot to take in at once."

"Y-yeah," Allen yawned as he laid down.

C.C. knelt next to his accommodator, slowly petting his snow-white hair until the teen finally fell into his oblivion of darkness. Smiling at the teen, C.C. slowly stood back up with his back to Mugen.

"You aren't telling us everything," Mugen stated, "I know you. That wouldn't have stopped you from showing yourself sooner. You were afraid of something else. Why else would you fight against your greatest desire to be in this form."

"You're right," C.C. said, tears of red rolling down his cheek, "I was afraid of something else."

"C.C.!" Lavi gasped when he saw the red tears.

"Don't worry, Lavi," Mugen stated, "Whenever we cry, we cry a bit of blood."

"B-blood?" Lenalee repeated.

"Yep," Mugen sighed, staring at Lenalee's Dark Boots, "It's sorta like when we reach Crystal type."

"Cry-crystal type?" the group gasped.

"S-So every type can reach it?" Komui exclaimed.

"Of course. Why would we choose one type over another?" Mugen scoffed, "We are all connected with our accommodators. Each of us share the blood of our wielders. The closer we are the more we share."

"Although," Mugen stared at Lenalee, "I don't know why you reached Crystal before Allen. He's much closer to Crown Clown than you are to the Dark Boots. Most can't reach Crystal till after our human form is reached."

"What are you trying to say? That Allen should have already been a Crystal type?" Krory asked.

"Well either Dark Boots knew that the only way to save Lenalee and everyone else was to join together with becoming a Crystal type or Crown Clown here is holding something back," Mugen sighed, walking up to Crown Clown and wiping his bloody tears away, "Hush now. Tell us what's going on."

"I was afraid, Mugen," C.C. stated solemnly, "afraid that Allen would abandon me if I showed him myself."

"Why would he do that?" Mugen asked gently.

"Cause I kill Mana…" C.C. whimpered, "I didn't even hide what I was doing. I didn't force Allen into unconsciousness or anything. When I saw the akuma that held his Mana's soul, I just attacked him…"

"You did what your instincts told you. It's your job to kill akuma," Mugen stated.

"But I didn't kill Mana in that first blow. I felt Allen's will tugging me back and I didn't kill him. So then I chased after the body, dragging Allen with me," C.C. said, tears falling anew, "He was crying out for me to stop. I ignored him…"

"You were-"

"He was only fuckin' nine years old Mugen!" C.C. snapped at the woman, "I could have prevented all that from happening if I had just knocked him out when I sensed the Earl coming close to him! I could have filled him with such fear of the man that he, even in a depressed stupor, could have ran away! He didn't have to be cursed by the one man he loved and then have to watch him die by his left hand!"

"But sweethear-" Mugen tried to comfort.

"Don't give me that shit! You know that you would have done the same damn thing!" C.C. shouted, "I didn't want him to be afraid of me! When he came to the order, he was still a child! All I wanted to do was to protect him from more fuckin' pain! That's all I wanted!"

C.C. fell to his knees next to a sleeping Allen, "and look what's happened cause I was afraid of hurting him. Nothing I can do will ever make this right…"

Mugen placed a hand on his right shoulder and smiled when he looked up at her, "This is good."

"H-huh?" he sniffled.

"You've never been attached to any of your past accommodators, even your past true ones," Mugen said with a smile, "You just made sure they didn't kill themselves. That's what made you different from the rest of us, sweetheart."

"Mugen…" C.C. whispered.

"What you're feeling is what we all feel," Mugen stated softly, pulling him into a tight embrace, "You're finally letting yourself be true."

"Crown…Clown," Allen whimpered in his sleep.

"And now look at your boy," Mugen giggled, "You don't have to worry about what to do. Just stay with him and help him with whatever he needs help with. That's all you have to do."

"Allen," C.C. muttered, gently stroking the boy's white hair.

"She's right," Lenalee said, kneeling on the other side of C.C., "You don't have to worry about any of that."

"Yeah," Lavi chuckled slightly, "You of all people should know that Allen could never hate you."

"He's probably extremely happy to have someone that he can turn to with his inner problems," Komui smiled.

"That's right," Miranda added, "Allen tends to keep everything bottled up until he snaps in the middle of a battle."

"Just stick by him and I'm sure everything will turn out alright," Krory finished.

C.C. smiled one of his accommodator's happiest smiles and wiped away his bloody tears, "Thanks. You guys are right. About Baka and everything"

* * *

_**Mizu: It's done~! It's done~! *runs around happily***_

_**Allen: *still asleep and dreaming of random food***_

_**Lavi: *pokes Allen* Hey, Mizu? Shouldn't we wake him up yet?**_

_**Mizu: Not yet. I'll get him up in the next chapter.**_

_**C.C.: What's with me crying all of the sudden?**_

_**Mizu: I used you a bit to help the story flow a bit that's all.**_

_**C.C.: Strange way to do that.**_

_**Lavi: but effective.**_

_**Mizu: What do you think Mugen? **_

_**Mugen: I really liked but I don't think Kanda's having such a great time with it.**_

_**Kanda: *tied in a chair and gagged* MMMMMMM!**_

_**Mizu: Calm down. I didn't want you to go on a killing rampage yet. Besides, why are you so worked up. You don't mind this type of thing in my other stories.**_

_**Kanda: MMM! MMMMMMM! MMMMMM!**_

_**Mugen: He said that that's different. He's supposed to be straight in this one.**_

_**Mizu: I never said I was making you straight in this one. *grins evilly***_

_**Rest of the characters: *shudders* crap…**_

_**Mizu: Anyways, any and all reviews are very well welcomed and loved. Ciao for now!**_


	5. While He Sleeps

_**Mizu: *does happy dance* This chapter is finally done! Yay! Although, it's kind of ramblely here and there, but I like it! And I hope you guys do too! Disclaimer time! I don't own -Man. If I did, there would be a way to change Alma back into a human (even if his body was artificial)…If some of you guys haven't gotten that far into the manga…sorry…Onto the story!**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Five: While he sleeps…**_

* * *

"Is he still asleep?" Mugen asked, leaning against the wall outside of Allen's room.

"Yep," C.C. stated, silently shutting the door, "and he'll probably be out of it for a while."

"Or for however long you want him to stay ignorant of the truth," Mugen sighed, "You sure are good at hiding your thoughts from the kid."

"So?" C.C. questioned, "It's not like you don't hide things from your wielder."

"This is true but I don't try to hide every little thing from him," Mugen defended, "He knows about his past and what he is. He knows that his body is an artificial creation that the order allowed so to bring this dreadful war to an end."

"If only the Heart knew about that…" C.C. mumbled.

"What would she be able to do? Appear and say, _"Hey, I'm the Heart of Innocence that you guys have been searching years for and I demand that you stop doing that to those poor people right this instant? Oh and still let me go out into the field where I can fight and risk getting destroyed." _I don't think that would fly with the Order," Mugen scoffed.

"Still, what they did to him was no better than what the Earl does!" C.C. growled, clenching his fists.

"Easy fighter," Mugen sighed, "You just got your brat to sleep. You don't want him to jump out of his slumber because your anger is filling his system."

Mugen slowly walked in front of her once lover and gently touched the side of his face, "Look. I'm still pissed off at what they did to Kanda, but I don't let it get the best of me. I mean, if they hadn't done that, then Kanda would never have been my true accommodator. So in some sick freaky way, I owe them a small amount of thanks. It's sick and wrong but nonetheless true."

"Mugen…" C.C. whimpered, "You know what's going to happen once Central gets wind of this."

"Yeah, they'll be forcing the two of us out in the field more and more trying to find the rest of our comrades. It'll be just like last time when we showed our true forms," Mugen smiled, "And that's just fine with me."

"Well it's not for me," C.C. growled, "Allen's body is already under too much stress as it is. He doesn't need to be continuously stuck out in the battle field."

"Ah, there's that protective side that you've been hiding again!" Mugen cooed.

"haha, very funny. Pick on my insecurities," C.C. chuckled darkly.

"It's the fact that the kid's a Noah, too, right?" Mugen asked seriously.

"…"

"I'm right, aren't I? You're afraid you won't be able to control him if he ever tries to take full control of Allen, right?" Mugen prodded, "Why'd you even let the bastard implant the memories in the boy?"

"C-Cause I thought that it would be a great asset to our side if we could use a Noah's power," C.C. admitted, "So I let him even though I had started to care deeply for Allen."

"And now you're almost totally regretting it," Mugen finished.

"He's been trying to push Allen's memories out of his way," C.C. said, staring up at the ceiling, "It's because he and Allen have to go through at least some of the transformation into a full Noah so that Allen can use his powers. If he doesn't, Allen won't be able to access them if we really need them."

"But you're worried that he'll accidentally do too much of the transformation and you'll lose Allen completely," Mugen stated.

"He won't. We agreed that I'd help him get back at the Earl if he helped me protect Allen. That included him not changing him into a full Noah," C.C. sighed, running a hand through his hair, "What I'm worried about is what Central's going to do to him. They all know that he started to turn into a full Noah that day when you're wielder stabbed him with you."

"Why did he start to change?" Mugen questioned, trembling from the memory.

"Because of the Noah blood that runs through him," C.C. explained, "True he has a milder reaction to innocence than the rest of the Noah does, but it still causes him a great deal of pain. After being stabbed so violently and so many times by you, his body went into shock. When it did so, his Noah blood raced to take control of the situation, against both the Noah's and mine own wills."

"Is that why he also started to scream out in pain when he stabbed himself with you?" Mugen asked.

"Yeah. Remember, I'm an exorcising blade. My ability is to purify anything that I come into contact with. So unfortunately for Allen, that even meant his Noah blood. Even though he's in constant contact with me, the sudden increase of my innocence in his body sent him into shock," C.C. said, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, "and then the Noah decided it would be okay to let the Earl know he was still alive. That damn idiot… All of that other shit could have been avoided if he had just kept his move shut."

"Well, at least all three of you have something in common," Mugen stated, sitting down next to her past lover.

"What's that?" C.C. questioned.

"All three of you hate the Earl beyond anything else in the world," Mugen said, gently laughing.

"You're right about that," C.C. chuckled.

"Don't worry about your brat, C.C.," Mugen smiled, gently kissing his cheek before standing up, "He's a lot tougher than you seem to think."

With that, Mugen quickly made her way down the hallway and towards the training room to go check on her accommodator. C.C. smiled as he watched his love saunter down the hall. Shaking his head, the other piece of innocence decided it was time to go talk to Komui. Or more than likely, Leverrier.

* * *

"Now tell me where he is!" one Howard Link shouted at Komui, causing the three other scientists in the room to jump, "When I returned from handing in my report this morning, he was gone and I could not locate him or his stupid golem!"

"Y-You see, Link, a lot has happened today that kind of made us forget to contact you," Komui stuttered, trying to pick his words carefully.

"What could be so distracting that you forgot to notify me of Walker's location?" Link snapped.

"I-It's also the reason that I called you three hear," Komui stated, trying to ignore the fuming Crow.

"What is it?" Bak Chan asked, leaning against a wall.

"Why did he call Chief Bak Chan?" another scientist that was called Johnny asked his superior, Reever.

"Something to do with innocence, I think," Reever explained.

"Hm? Leverrier isn't here yet? Wow, and here I was preparing myself for the worse," C.C.'s voice said from the doorway.

"Huh?" four out of the five gaped, "Who are you?"

"Well, Lavi calls me C.C. and it seems to have stuck with a lot of people," C.C. chuckled walking up to the group, "But Allen and you, Bak Chan, named me as the Crown Clown."

"…What?" the four shouted.

"Wh-What is the meaning of this, Komui?" Bak demanded.

"W-Well it appears that Innocence can take the form of humans if they are matched with their true accommodators," Komui explained.

"S-So that's W-Walker's innocence?" Bak and Link questioned.

"You got it," C.C. smirked, plopping himself down on the couch.

"Can I help you with anything, C.C.?" Komui asked.

"Yeah, when are you going to send baka out into the field again?" C.C. questioned.

"Well, there aren't any missions right now so it may be a while," Komui said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Good. I'd like to keep him at the order for a while," C.C. stated, stretching, "His body is under way too much stress right now and he still has to get to the feeling of not having me attached to him."

"B-But shouldn't he already be used to that?" Bak questioned, "I mean, he lost you for a while, remember?"

"Not true," C.C. said, staring straight at the Asian director, "I was always surrounding him, aiding him in everything. Right now, the only piece of me that's in his body is that piece in his heart."

"…oh," Bak gaped, "Th-that explains why he could keep up with Fou."

"Oh, he did that on his own," C.C. chuckled, "I just gave him the extra stamina to keep going for long periods of time."

C.C. just laughed as the Asian director's jaw fell open. It was just so much fun to mess with the poor man's head.

"So where is Walker now?" Link questioned sternly.

"Don't you ever take a break?" C.C. sighed, glaring at the Crow, "Baka's asleep in his room, if you must know you annoying brat."

"So you don't have to stay by Allen's side?" Reever questioned.

"Not exactly. I can go up to a quarter mile without having to worry about hurting the baka," C.C. stated.

"That's so cool!" Johnny chanted.

"Hm, aren't you easy to impress?" C.C. chuckled, "You're the one that makes the uniforms, right curly hair?"

"A-Ah, yes!" Johnny exclaimed, rushing towards the man, "Do you want one?"

"It would be nice not to ruin these clothes in battle," C.C. thought aloud.

"Wait…you don't appear with your clothes?" Reever questioned.

"I-I thought you guys mirrored what you're accommodator wore because Mugen was dressed the same as Kanda," Komui stuttered.

"M-Mugen turned into a human, too?" Bak and Reever gasped.

"Y-Yes and Mugen turned out to be a girl…" Komui mumbled.

"…how's Kanda taking that news?" Reever chuckled nervously.

"Well…the order's still in one piece, right?" Komui whimpered.

"Eh…Anyways," C.C. said, turning to get by the sudden depression in the room, "Yes, we appear with clothes on, but when we still like to change what we wear."

"So when you appear, do you have on the same as Allen?" Johnny questioned.

"Yep. But for right now, I'm not going to be changing into back into his arm until he actually gets into a fight with akuma," C.C. explained, "So I'd like so new clothes for myself so I don't have to steal from baka all the time or be stuck in this apparel forever."

"…This is way too confusing," Komui whimpered, "So do you think Mugen will want some clothes too?"

"Maybe. She may actually like what Kanda wears," C.C. thought aloud, "Who knows?"

"Alright! I'll make you the best clothes in the whole wide world!" Johnny declared.

"That's a good boy," C.C. stated, patting the scientist on the head, "Just add about three inches to Allen's measurements for height, k?"

"Yes sir!" Johnny beamed, rushing off to work on designs.

"Don't you guys ever worry about that kid?" C.C. chuckled softly.

"All of the time," Reever admitted.

"Crown Clown," Link spoke up, "Can you tell me the current position of Allen and his Noah side?"

"Man, you sure get straight to the point," C.C. sighed, "Does that really matter right now? You've just found out that he's the first in the Order in a long time to become fully link and all you care is that damn Noah side of his."

"I need to know so I can warn Central," Link explained.

"Central?" C.C. asked, eyes' slowly narrowing, "You bastard. You think I'm just going to let you torture that boy for something he has absolutely no control over?"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Link demanded, stumbling away from the suddenly enraged innocence.

"What do you think Central will do to him? Try him for heresy?" C.C. shouted, "It won't be as easy as that! They won't stop until they've used him for countless experiments and pushed his damaged body far beyond what any human should be able to go!

"I won't stand for it! I'm tired of seeing Central using their power to force the exorcists and others to bend to their will. They claim it's for this damn war but it's not! They just want to make sure no one ever stands up against them!" C.C. shouted, emitting a large amount of power.

Komui and the other scientists had taken up refuge behind his desk and piles of paper while the Crow was force to scramble backwards from the enraged piece of innocence. C.C. slowly made his way over to where the trembling man was, angry carved into his face.

"I won't let it happen again. Never again," C.C. muttered, "We will get our vengeance on the Earl our own way. We have no need for such idiotic ways that Central have come up with!"

"Crown Clown?" a sleepy voice sounded from the doorway.

C.C. froze and looked back up towards the voice. There stood Allen, gently rubbing his eyes with his right (and only) hand. His shirt was drooping down over his left shoulder where the arm just cut off. Leaning on the doorway for support, the teen tried to make sense of the scene before him, even with his sleep deprived mind.

"What's going on?" Allen questioned.

"N-Nothing!" C.C. insisted, rushing over to his wielder, "You really shouldn't be up, baka. You're body needs rest."

"I couldn't sleep. Something woke me up," Allen muttered, yawning a bit, "Then I looked around and you weren't anywhere near by."

"I-I'm sorry," C.C. apologized, "I needed to talk to Komui for a bit."

" 'K," Allen yawned again, looking up at his innocence with groggy eyes, "I'm going back to bed…"

"…Do you need me to lead you back to your room, baka?" C.C. sighed, knowing his wielder would most likely get lost.

"No!…yes…" Allen admitted.

"Haha. Baka," C.C. chuckled, ruffling the teen's hair, "Alright. I'll talk to you guys later."

"R-Right," the four men nodded.

"Let's go, baka," C.C. said, leading the very sleepy Allen back to bed.

'How did he wake up? I thought for sure I had forced him into a very deep sleep,' C.C. thought to himself as he walked next to Allen.

"Hey, what woke you up anyways?" C.C. questioned, trying to look into the boy's mind, 'Odd…He's already learned to block off his mind from me."

"I…I had a bad dream…" Allen admitted, blushing slightly.

"A bad dream?" C.C. gaped, "That's it?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Allen snapped.

Waiting until the two were totally out of sight, the three scientists slowly made their way out from behind the desk.

"Can you tell me just what happened, Chief?" Reever asked, gulping nervously.

"Apparently, C.C. can't stand anything about Central and all that they've done in the past," Komui thought out loud, "but he can't stand the thought of angering Allen more."

"So…the thing he wants most of all is to protect Allen from anything that wants to hurt him," Bak added.

"Yeah. And he hates himself for hurting the kid the most for what he did to Mana," Komui nodded, "Link. You should tell Leverrier about all of this. Also, add in that there is no chance that the Noah will be able to take over Allen. Not as long as C.C. is protecting him."

* * *

_**Mizu: Whoop! Done! What do you guys think?**_

_**Allen: A bad dream? Really? How old do you think I am?**_

_**Mizu: What? I thought it was cute!**_

_**C.C.: I found it quite funny. Oh, and Mizu?**_

_**Mizu: Yes?**_

_**C.C.: I noticed something from some of the 1st**__** and 3**__**rd**__** chapters.**_

_**Mizu: What's that?**_

_**C.C.: Allen's age. You put him down as 15 in the first chapter but changed it to 16 in the third. **_

_**Mizu: S-So? He's 16, okay!**_

_**C.C.: *laughs* it's so fun to mess with you, Mizu! Anyways, that was just to clarify it, alright?**_

_**Mizu: *pouts* even I make mistakes…after all, I'm only human…**_

_**Allen: Great…Now you've done it, C.C.!**_

_**C.C.: ? What I do?**_

_**Allen: She's going to be stuck in that pouting trance for a week now!**_

_**Lavi: oh boy…it's going to be a long week…Anyways, Mizu enjoys all reviews and suggestions. That's about it. So…Ciao for now!**_


	6. One's Overpowering Anger

_**Mizu: I finally got to this story again! I curse plot bunnies and the fact that they love to distract me! As of right now though, my main focus is An Innocent Heart but when my brain gets fried from focusing too hard on it, I'm working on my other stories, hoping that I can upload at least one chapter to each one before the end of the year. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, then Alma and Kanda would get to be together and live! I'm so worried for Kanda, ironic cause a year ago I couldn't stand Kanda. *shrugs* weird how things change…**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Six: One's Overpowering Anger…**_

* * *

"This is amazing!" C.C. exclaimed from his seat next to Allen in the cafeteria, "You did an amazing job, Johnny!"

"You really like it?" Johnny squealed.

"You bet!" C.C. chuckled, holding up his new uniform (looking almost exactly like a cross between Allen's and Lavi's), "You have no idea how happ-Keep eating Baka!"

Allen just groaned in response and continued to force food down his throat, "Now I know how it feels to be stuffed…I don't like it…"

"Poor Allen," Lenalee giggled from her seat across from the two.

"I still eat as much as I used to but now…ugh," Allen whimpered, lying his face on the table, "this is too much…"

"Don't worry, baka," C.C. soothed, patting Allen's head, "In a couple of days, you'll be able to eat as much as you used again."

Allen just groaned again and lazily lifted a stick of dango to his mouth.

"I see you're already wide awake, Moyashi-chan!" Lavi chuckled, setting his tray next to the white-haired teen.

"Morning Lavi," Allen groaned.

"So enthusiastic," Lavi teased, "I got a question for C.C.!" "I don't know when Miranda's innocence and her will fully link," C.C. stated, starting to hum a happy tune.

"Aawww…" Lavi whimpered, "You're no fun…"

Suddenly Allen shot up from the table, face painted a dark red with his hand covering his mouth. Lavi and Lenalee looked up at him questionally and saw the parasitic exorcist glare at his innocence. C.C. just smirked and pointed to the corner where a trash can was. Allen's eyes darted between the two before he took off for the trash can. Lavi dropped the fork he had brought to his mouth when he realized why Allen was running to the trash can.

"Wh-What just happened to him?" Lavi asked, a little worried.

"Hm?" C.C. looked over at the redhead and flashed him a mischievous smile, "Oh, nothing. Just giving him a lesson in things as he ate."

"A lesson in what things?" Lenalee and Lavi asked as they watched Jerry freak out about Allen, running around him like a first time mother.

"Moyashi!" Kanda bellowed, rushing into the cafeteria and stomping over to their table.

"Yuu?" Lavi gasped, noticing that Mugen had the same look as C.C. did.

"He's over there puking his guts out," C.C. pointed to his wielder, locking eyes with Mugen, "I don't think that they appreciated our lessons."

"Like hell I did!" Kanda snapped at the innocence, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Huh…Oh…OH!" Lavi gasped in realization and tried to stop from laughing, "No wonder Allen throwing up!"

"Hm, but it was pretty fun right?" Mugen snickered as she wrapped her arms around C.C.'s neck, "Their reactions were priceless."

"Stop that!" Kanda shouted, clutching at his head, "Moyashi! Control your damn innocence!"

Allen just looked back over to the table for a second before his attention was drawn back to the trash can. Everyone, including Kanda, sweat dropped for the poor boy in the corner.

"Haha, the kid got sick!" Mugen clapped.

"I think that we pushed him a little to far though," C.C. sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "He is only sixteen after all."

"So?" Mugen pouted, plopping down in C.C.'s lap, "Kanda didn't get sick."

"Kanda's older," C.C. pointed out.

"Not by much," Mugen chuckled evilly, "Watch."

Kanda's eyes widened for a split second before he glared at his innocence, "Stop that! I don't need to see that shit!"

C.C. just laughed loudly as he felt Allen finally block his mind from his innocence's, "There you go, baka! You're learning!"

"Learning what?" Lavi asked.

"When you are fully linked and you want some privacy, you have to learn how to block you mind from your innocence's," C.C. explained, "That's why we're doing this to these two. We know that these memories will drive them to learn."

"You're a sick bastard!" Allen shouted from his corner.

"Suck it up, baka!" C.C. shouted back.

No response.

"Oops," C.C. sighed, "Baka passed out."

"Aww, poor thing," Mugen stated, sending another wave of memories into Kanda's mind.

"I said stop it!" Kanda screamed.

"You have to learn to close your mind, idiot," Mugen sighed.

Lavi was rolling on the floor with laughter, clutching at his stomach. It was too much. Yuu's face to whatever memories his innocence was showing him was priceless. Looking up to Lenalee, Lavi felt another wave of laughter hit him. She just sat their dumbfounded, blinking in confusion.

"Oi~! Baka," C.C. called over to the unconscious boy in the corner, "Time to get up. We've got work to do."

"W-Work?" Lavi stuttered.

Something suddenly flashed in both of the innocences eyes. Kanda's blush suddenly disappeared and he was staring straight at Lavi with wide eyes. There was a bright, quick flash of light that surrounded the pair of innocence. When the light subsided, both were gone.

Lavi looked around for the missing two when he noticed Kanda holding Mugen in her katana form, activated and all. Nervously looking over to where Allen was supposed to be, Lavi came face to face with the mask of the Crown Clown as he wrapped the Clown belt around Allen's limp body. Gulping, Lavi quickly grabbed his hammer and prepared to defend himself. Why he was being attacked though, he had no idea.

Lavi quickly activated his hammer when something he never expected happened. His hammer shone a brilliant greenish blue, causing him to let it go and cover his eye. When the light had finally subsided, Lavi blinked his eye a couple of times, settling on three things. Mugen laughing at Kanda's face, back in her human form. C.C. carrying a still unconscious Allen on his back. A strange man in front of him with tattoos covering his arms, bandana covering his right eye, and a messy mop of bright, fiery red hair. On his face was a smirk that was all too familiar to Lavi.

"Yo, rabbit," the man smirked.

"Ōzuchi Kozuchi!" Mugen squealed, wrapping her arms around the strange man, "You finally found yourself a true accommodator!"

"Wh-What?" Lavi stuttered, rushing over to C.C., "You didn't tell me that I was close to being fully linked!"

"What? And have you run off because of your bookman clan?" C.C. sneered, "Not a chance. Now you have no choice but see this all through."

The man wrapped his arm around Lavi's neck, laughter bellowing in his ear, "Man, that old geezer's face is gonna be priceless when he finds out!"

"Let me go!" Lavi snapped, trying to free himself, "This can't be happening!"

"Man, I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for you to show yourself C.C.!" the man laughed even louder, making sure Lavi couldn't get away, "I was starting to get impatient with ya! After all, I've been dying to stretch my legs but everyone knows we can't do that till-"

Lavi found himself kissing the floor when his innocence finally released him. After rubbing his jaw, he looked up to a shocking sight. C.C. holding his innocence up in the air by his throat, eyes fiercer than Kanda's had ever been in his life. Mugen had too fallen silent and stood in complete shock, jaw slackened.

"Keep that filthy mouth of your shut," C.C. growled, tightening his grip.

Mugen finally snapped out of her daze and raced forward, latching onto C.C.'s arm, frantically trying to free Lavi's innocence, "Calm down C.C.! You have to calm down!"

C.C. chose to ignore the frantic woman, electing to throw Lavi's innocence into the closest wall. He slowly stalked up to him, Allen still unconscious on his back, murderous aura suffocating everyone in the room.

"Hehe," Lavi's innocence chuckled weakly, "Sorry. Didn't know that you hadn't explain this cr-"

"I said shut you fucking mouth!" C.C. shouted, power dripping from his voice.

Lavi watched with a widened eyes as C.C. approached his innocence. What the hell was going on! His eyes shifted to where Allen was still placed on his back. The boy was moving a little, a pained expression on his face. Chalking it up to being so close to his insane piece of innocence, Lavi slowly stood up and shaky legs and made his way over to where Kanda stood in shock. His eyes were wide, a cold sweat forming on his forehead. Apparently, Mugen was filling him in on everything.

The next thing they all knew was that there was a blood curdling scream coming from the previously unconscious boy. His silver eyes shot open, dilated and fear filled, as he shoved himself off of C.C.'s back. He scrambled backwards, as if trying to flee something. C.C., once he realized that it was Allen who had screamed, turned on his heel and chased after the terrified boy. Allen passed by Lavi without casting him any sort of glance. Lavi's single eye caught Mugen racing after the white-haired boy as well. She caught him just before C.C. did out of the corner of his eye. Without a second's hesitation, Mugen wrapped her arms around the teen and held him close. C.C. was by their side in a second as Allen clung to the female innocence.

"I told you you needed to calm down, you fucking idiot!" Mugen screamed at C.C., "Now look what you did! This is the reason why the Heart didn't want you to have anymore wielders!"

"What?" Lavi and Lenalee gasped.

"I'm sorry!" C.C. whimpered, reaching out for Allen's hand.

"Stay back!" Mugen snapped, forcing out an intimidating aura, "He's like this because of you!"

"What the hell is going on here!" Lavi snapped.

"C.C. hasn't explained everything yet, has he?" Lavi's innocence stuttered, appearing beside Lavi, "That boy probably had a horrible wake up call right now."

"Huh?" Lavi gaped, "What? Did C.C.'s anger awaken part of the Noah inside Allen?"

"I wish it was that," Mugen chuckled darkly, brushing passed C.C. without a passing glance, "No, this is a problem C.C. has always had with every single accommodator he's ever had."

"It has to do with what piece of Innocence he is and his position is in relevance to the Heart," Lavi's piece sighed, walking over to Allen and gently ruffling his hair.

"I thought you kept telling me that he was only sixteen!" Mugen snapped back at C.C.

"I know!" C.C. cried, head placed between his hands.

"Somebody please explain this to us humans!" Lavi snapped.

"To put it in simple terms, all of C.C.'s anger and bloodlust filled Allen's system, scaring the shit out of him," Mugen sighed as Allen started to whimper, "It's always like this. C.C.'s got one hell of a sort temper. A lot shorter than Kanda's that's for sure. And he doesn't know how to control it."

"But why would that-" Lenalee started to ask.

"Think about it. To be fully linked, your dreams, wishes, and _**emotions**_ have to be the exact same," Lavi's innocence stated, "So whenever you get upset, we feel it and it influences us to try and make as feel upset. Once we're linked, we feel everything you feel. While we may not be expressing the same emotion at the time, we still feel it."

"And Allen is such a naïve child that C.C.'s anger is something that he just can't comprehend," Mugen stated, "Even at his angriest, Allen has never once thought of killing someone for any reason. The only reason he kills akuma is because he feels right doing it under the notion that they are being saved. But C.C.'s anger and bloodlust… Well, you guys felt it. It's simply terrifying."

"For a child like Allen, to feel something like that coursing through him is enough to scare him to death," Lavi's innocence sighed, "That's not what scared him the most. He actually probably thought that all of that bloodlust was from the Noah in him. So that's why he tried to run away. He thought that he was about to hurt someone."

Mugen stiffened when she felt a familiar hand touch her shoulder. Turning her head a bit, she smiled softly when she saw C.C. standing there, deep regret within his eyes. She also felt Allen start to shift, trying to free himself from the arms that kept him caged.

"I really am s-sor-" C.C. started to say before the white-haired boy flung his arms around C.C.'s middle.

"There you go, C.C.," Mugen sighed happily, "You've got yourself one brave wielder."

"Al-Allen?" C.C. whimpered, looking down at the small framed teen.

"You…you fucking idiot!" Allen snapped, drawing back enough to kick his innocence in his shin, "What the crap was all of that!"

C.C. yelped, and clutched at his leg as Allen made to kick him in the head. He moved to duck, earning the kick in his gut instead. Collapsing to the ground, C.C. looked up at Allen with confusion.

"Answer me!" Allen bellowed, tears still in his eyes.

"H-He's gone black," Lavi and his innocence whimpered.

"W-Well-" C.C. started to say, earning himself a kick to his jaw, "What the hell was that for? Don't you want me to explain things!"

Allen smirked and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes, "Good. You're back to normal now. Not that pathetic whimpering mass."

"What about you, baka!" C.C. demanded, pulling on both of Allen's cheeks, "Weren't you just clinging to Mugen crying your bloody heart out!"

"Hey! I'm still technically a kid! I can get away with that. You aren't though," Allen shot back, pulling his innocence's hair.

"Eh…" Lenalee and Lavi gaped.

"Allen's a lot like him, isn't he?" Lavi's Innocence smirked, walking up to Mugen.

"You got that right," Mugen chuckled.

"He's a lot like who?" Lenalee asked.

"The one that C.C. tried to bring back," both pieces of Innocence stated sadly as they watched the two to continue to fight.

"So what if O.K. started to say something he wasn't supposed to? It's your responsibility to clear that up, not prevent it from coming out!" Allen yelled at his innocence.

"O.K.?" everyone repeated.

"What? Lavi's the only that can come up with nicknames for the innocence? Ōzuchi Kozuchi would get so old to have to keep saying," Allen pouted as everyone erupted into laughter.

'He really is like him,' C.C. thought with a smile.

* * *

_**Mizu: Cliffhanger of sorts, if you ask me, is the best way for a chapter to come during the holidays. **_

_**Allen: Every one…In every single one, you make me so bloody emotional!**_

_**Mizu: Welcome to the world of Mizu! Please keep all hands, legs, and griping inside the car at all times and enjoy the ride!**_

_**Lavi: She's lost it…**_

_**Kanda: Che. She'd have to have something to lose first.**_

_**Mizu: Just for that, when the holidays pass Kanda, I'm going to use Komui's octo-gun on you.**_

_**Kanda: Tch.**_

_**Mizu: Just like always, reviews are still extremely enjoyed and so are suggestions. I really don't have any pairings for this story but I'm thinking about it. It seems a little weird not to have a pairing but if it works out that way, then so be it! Ciao for now!**_


	7. Reasons why

_**Mizu: I totally love all you guys that review! I, myself, am horrible with reviews because I never know what to say. Anyways, here's a chapter filled with explainations that leads into a giant question that has been filling my mind every day while writing this. Beware. Allen cried because of what he learns in this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, Leverrier would be dying the worse death imaginable, keeping him alive just enough to torture him through it all again!**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form-**_

_**Chapter Seven- Reasons why…**_

* * *

"Oi, where are you, idiot?" Bookman called out as he entered the cafeteria of the Order, "You better not be slacking-"

Bookman froze when he saw his apprentice being glomped by a brown haired, older, and taller Allen along with an older version of Lavi. Add that to the insane laughter coming for the idiots mouth and a smirking woman who looked strangely like Kanda holding Timcampy, and you have a very, _**very**_ confused Bookman.

"-off," Bookman gaped, spotting Allen struggling to force food down his throat, "What is going on here?"

"Ah! Panda!" Lavi gasped, struggling to get free from his captors, "You'll never guess what happened!"

"You were an idiot again?" Bookman sighed, "What kind of drug did you spill this time?"

"Drug?" O.K. questioned.

"He doesn't know yet, idiot," C.C. said, gently whacking O.K. on the head, "You of all p-_**Keep eating baka**_!"

"Oh come on!" Allen cried, throwing a plate of pasta at his innocence, "Even when I had my appetite, I never ate this much!"

"Eh? Why does Walker only have one arm?" Bookman questioned, quickly making his way over to where Allen sat fuming, grabbing the sleeve that just hung off the side of his body.

"Well, you see-" Lavi started to say.

"I'm his innocence," C.C. said, pulling Allen away from Bookman and into his arms.

"Let me go damn it!" Allen snapped, trying to break away from his innocence, "Why are you holding me any-"

C.C. successfully managed to shut Allen's rant up by stuffing a loaf of bread into his mouth. The piece of innocence smiled as his wielder shot him another glare while trying to hurriedly eat the loaf that filled his mouth. He grabbed another random plate so that when Allen finished, he could stuff his mouth again. If the boy was going to complain the whole time eating, C.C. just had to find a better way of feeding him. And if that way made him pin the boy down and stuff the essential food down his throat then so be it.

"Innocence?" Bookman repeated, watching Allen struggle to swallow the bread.

"Yep. As you can tell, I'm baka's innocence, " C.C. nodded, pointing at Mugen, "That's Kanda's innocence, Mugen."

"I see," Bookman nodded, recording the new information.

"And I'm this here rabbit's innocence," O.K. laughed happily, flinging arm around Lavi's neck again.

"…what?" Bookman blinked.

"Yep," Mugen smirked, "Lavi's fully linked to his innocence. He's O.K.'s true accommodator."

"But no need to worry," C.C. smirked, "Though Lavi is his innocence's true wielder and can never truly leave innocence's side from now until he dies, you and your innocence is not."

…

Lavi felt like smacking himself. That was it. He was so totally dead now.

"Really? Is that all?" Bookman stated.

"Huh?" Lavi blinked, watching the old panda walk up to him as his Innocence walked over to Mugen.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid or something?" Bookman stated, staring up at his apprentice.

"I-I was…You're not mad?" Lavi questioned.

"No no, I'm not mad," Bookman said before leaping into the air, proceeding to beat the living crap out of the redhead.

Allen just sat watching with a strange amount of interest as he munched on another loaf of bread. It was really quite amusing. O.K. was standing away from the beating, cheering for Bookman and laughing while Mugen was braiding Kanda's hair, laughing at the beating. Such strange things Innocence was. Strange but…Allen smile softly, glancing over at his innocence. They were quite strange but they were also kind and wonderful to their wielders. It was sort of like a family member you never knew you had until you've grown up a bit.

C.C. finally stood up and dragged Allen away from the feuding pair in the cafeteria. Allen had a stick of dango in his mouth as he let his innocence drag him wherever he was dragging him. There was so much on his mind right then. Why did Innocence pick who they did? There had to be something to it other than just being picked at random like everyone at the Order thought. Even the Noah thought that it might just be pure dumb luck on how the innocence picked their wielders. But that couldn't truly be the case. Especially if the form that they most desired was their human form which could only be obtained by finding their true accommodators.

"Where are we going?" Allen finally asked after several silent minutes.

"The bathhouse," C.C. smiled, "It must be a little hard for you to wash yourself with just one arm."

"You could always just turn back into my arm, you know," Allen fake scoffed.

"Well, where's the fun it that?" C.C. laughed loudly.

Allen just softly smiled, 'Maybe this is how it's supposed to feel with a real one…'

* * *

"Hey!" Allen nearly growled as he felt C.C.'s hands start to roughly scrub his head.

"What?" C.C. chuckled, continuing to work on his wielders white hair.

"I can wash myself, thank you very much!" Allen almost snapped, trying to get away from the hands.

"Oh just be quiet and sit still," C.C. scolded, holding his wielder in place while he scrubbed a little harder to shut him up.

"Oww! Stop that!" Allen whined, finally getting his innocence to let up a little, "Jerk."

"Baka," C.C. gently smiled.

The two were silent for a bit while Allen sat completely rigid as C.C. worked on his hair. It was something totally new for him. He had never had anyone wash any part of him other than himself. Even Mana never did that, saying that he was old enough to do so himself. Though he did say it in a lot nicer way than Cross did when Allen got sick with a high fever for a week while in France. He literally through a drenched rag at him before pushing him into one of his whore's arms, telling her to make sure that his idiot apprentice didn't die from his own stupidity.

Allen hated the fact that the woman, who he himself had labeled as dirty, was about to wash him. He managed to force her out of the bath and do it himself. When she finally managed to get the door open again, he was already dressed again. Then he let her tend to his needs other than his bathing. That was just how he was. If he could do it, why let anyone else do it? It never sat well with him. It just felt wrong to make someone do something so…so disgusting. After all, he was the boy that had been abandoned and left to die because of his freaky arm. While make anyone see that?

But the feeling of guilt and disgust never came to him with C.C. Allen had to admit that it felt rather comforting. It was somewhat soothing to let his innocence do this for him. Maybe it was because his innocence was his disgusting arm or perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, Allen finally relaxed and leaned into C.C.'s hands, closing his eyes to think on other things and enjoy this fleeting moment.

C.C. smiled as he finally felt Allen freed himself of his troubling thoughts. He couldn't say that he blamed the boy about not wanting anyone to come so close to him. The young teen had had a traumatizing childhood. It wasn't truly fair of him to expect that Allen would open his arms wide, smile, and say the one thing he longed to hear more than anything else. He knew that Allen, even though he was innocent and didn't know much of the world, was overly cautious of those he let close to him.

It was a bit unfair. If you didn't know him, he never doubted you because of his left eye. But if you were close to him, it made him uncomfortable and made him overly cautious about you, while at the same time making him want to protect you.

'Such conflicting emotions he carries on his shoulders,' C.C. thought with a sigh.

"Hey, C.C.?" Allen questioned, as C.C. started to rinse his hair.

"Yes?" C.C. responded, tilting Allen's head back so no water got in his eyes.

"What were your previous accommodators like?" Allen asked, mind completely blocked off from C.C.'s.

"Huh? You wanna know about my past wielders?" C.C. gawked, "Why?"

Allen shrugged, "Just want to know."

"Curious little bugger, aren't you baka?" C.C. chuckled a little, finishing Allen's hair, "Alright, I'll tell you."

"Yay," Allen chuckled turning to face his innocence with his eyes shining.

"Well, my first true accommodator was a shy man of about thirty years old. He didn't do much and didn't like to fight until his daughter was killed by the akuma of his sister. After that he swore vengeance for his daughter's life, breaking away from his old self. That's when he found me. For him, I was an equip type Innocence. It was easier for him to use and it might have been to hard on his body if joined up with his body. Though, even though I was an equip type for him, he managed to fully link with me. He was the first to use me as the body armor and exorcising blade," C.C. said, starting to wash himself.

"But he died because he through me at an idiot who told him that he was fighting for a stupid reason. Then he charged at him and got himself stabbed through his heart. I tried to quickly change into my human form and stop him but it was too late. The second I reached him, it was too late. The sword was already going through his heart. He looked at me and smiled sadly before saying that he was going to see his little girl. Then he died, causing me to instantly revert to my crystal like form, flying away from there to await my next wielder," C.C. said with no emotion, "He was just an idiot for letting his emotions cloud his mind."

"It's still sad," Allen whimpered, "Want me to wash your hair?"

"Nah. With just one arm, you'd just end up taking too much time," C.C. teased, starting on his hair.

"Not my fault I don't have an arm," Allen pouted.

"True," C.C. chuckled, "Now, my second true accommodator found me in a field in Spain while he was trying to harvest the last of his crops. He was about twenty-eight or so. He saw me and tried to pick me up, allowing me to instantly join up with his body. Though I didn't change his arm. I just embedded myself in a tattoo on his shoulder. He lasted a little better than my last one but he still died due to his stupidity. Actually, he was a little like you. Though, he only tried a few times to throw himself in the way of danger unlike you who does it on a daily basis. Anyway, he saw the Earl preparing to attack a few people who he had just met. Forgetting about me, he jumped in the way of the Earl's attack before I could fully activate and protect them. So he died before he could yell at him about the people who he saved actually being a few akuma. Then I had to flee yet again or else the Earl would destroy me.

"The third and fourth only lasted 6 months each. Both of them were parasitic type but I only took up residence in their hands. And both of them died by being stupid and attacking some stray level three akuma without thinking. I can protect you people from their poisonous virus but not your own damn stupidity. So twice more, I was forced to flee and hide away," C.C. said, rinsing his hair, "The fifth one was an equip type who died protecting his lover who was also an exorcist. Mugen's wielder actually. This time, I didn't have to flee and hide away. Mugen's wielder managed to grab me and run for safety. That's when people started to collect innocence, trying to find their wielders at the same time. With Mugen's wielder's help, I found my sixth true accommodator.

She was a woman who was devoted to trying to save orphaned children. She too had been an orphan, but because of an akuma's attack. When we found her, she was trying to save an orphan from another akuma. Within a split second, I joined with her, allowing her to live out her deepest desires to save the children. In return, she allowed me to return to the battlefield. Around this time, Mugen and I started our relationship as well," C.C. said with a smirk as Allen shot him a disgusted look, "Yes, we started doing "this" and "that"- "I don't need to know!" Allen cried, wishing he could cover both ears.

"Haha," C.C. laughed, "Anyways, she died one day while on patrol with Mugen's wielder and the two of us. The Earl snuck up on us and killed both of our accommodators before either of us could figure out where he was. So together, the two of us fled. It was after he that I never truly found another true accommodator until you, Allen."

"Really?" Allen questioned, trying to wash his back.

"Yeah," C.C. chuckled, watching the boy struggle, "You're my seventh true accommodator."

"So what happened when the Earl was defeated the first time?" Allen asked, curiosity obvious.

"…we never truly defeated him, Allen," C.C. sighed, catching the way Allen looked at him with fear, dropping the rag he was using, "All we managed to do was to seal away most of his powers and send him into hiding. He still could created akuma though. So, even though most of the pieces of innocence went dormant incase the Earl can out of hiding, there were a select few that remained in the world active. Mugen, the Heart, Dark Boots, Time Record, O.K. and myself were some of those pieces."

"S-So," Allen stuttered.

"Yes, we've been fighting all this time against the Earl while the humans who fought along side us never knew," C.C. nodded, "We found new accommodators, never letting them create and organization and making them believe that they were special. Making them travel the world in search of the akuma to "purify" the world of the demons. That was all we could do. Everyone else found true accommodators but me…that's not true actually…"

"H-Huh? But you just said," Allen started to protest.

"There was one person that I could have linked with," C.C. said grimly, "That is if he let me."

"He refused? I thought that you couldn't do that," Allen said.

"You're not supposed to be able to," C.C. sighed, "but for whatever reason, he hated me. I had done nothing to him. For him I was an equip type that he had acquired when he stole from a traveling merchant. I did not leave him an orphan. I did not kill anyone precious to him. I never made him kill when he didn't want to. But still, he hated me.

"One day, Mugen and her wielder ran into us, Mugen in her human form, filling me with great joy. I had previously gave him signs of what was going on. Heck, I had even asked permission before changing into my human form. When he said yes and activated me, I was so overjoyed. To be able to stretch my legs was something I had dreamt of for many nights," C.C. said, rubbing his neck.

"But just as I started to change into my human form, he threw me off of him and into a nearby tree. My form wasn't complete as he deactivated his innocence. I was in a translucent human form with my left arm still in the form of his innocence. There was blood dripping down from my mouth as I stared at him in disbelieve," C.C. stated, staring straight into Allen's trembling eyes, "Then he yelled at me for lying to him and took his dagger and started to plunge it into his own heart. Mugen raced towards me as I started to cough up blood. The ties to my accommodator where being cut by my accommodator himself. It felt terrible. I fought to keep the two of us from changing into a fallen. Mugen's wielder was trying bravely to save his life. I glared at his corpse, swearing to myself never to stand for a man like him ever again as I reverted into my crystal form once more…"

"C.C.," Allen whimpered, putting his hand on C.C.'s shoulder.

"And I never did. It was then that the Heart told me not to seek out anymore true accommodators. That I had done enough and needed to rest," C.C. smiled gently, "And I agreed. I had fought since the beginning of the war, constantly trying to finish all of it's madness. And even then, when the akuma that did appear were not really a big threat, I was still pushing myself beyond what was needed. So I decided to lay low. Occasionally, an accommodator would find me and be able to wield me in my most basic form like you first did. But that was it."

Allen stayed quiet until he heard the next few words from C.C.'s mouth, "That is. Until your mother found me."

"M-My mother?" Allen gasped.

"Yes. She found me when she was two months pregnant with you," C.C. said with a gentle smile on his face, "Thinking I was a beautiful gem, she took me with her. It was strange. I felt the sensation of a true accommodator near me, but never could figure it out. That was because until you, there had never been a case of innocence finding an accommodator before it was born. So while I was in your mother's possession, I would constantly feel the presence of my true accommodator, sending thrills and a joyous feeling through me.

"It wasn't until your mother was six months along and started to have complications with you, did I finally realize it. I just knew it. Whenever she placed her hand over you, that was the only time you would kick or move within her. It was like you were calling out to me, saying that you were waiting for me to find you. So when the doctor started to say that you were probably going to die, I started to get scared. It had been so long since I had had a true wielder. Even though you weren't born yet, I could already feel the ties between us. They were strong even then." C.C. explained, staring into Allen's shocked and amazed eyes.

"However, you were dying. I knew that I could saved you but didn't know how too. I didn't know how to get to you and I couldn't save you unless I did get to you. And I didn't want to lose you right as I found you," C.C. said, staring at the wall now, "So I contacted the Heart to see if there was anything she could do. She too was stunned to hear that you weren't born but would see what she could do. She convinced her accommodator to find us, pretending to be a doctor. They then told your mother that I was a very rare mineral that could be used to help unborn children. Of course she jumped at it. The Heart then allowed me to change into a liquid and be drunken by your mother-"

"But wouldn't that have killed her!" Allen screamed, standing up in terror.

"Yes, if the Heart wasn't there to suppress my power. She waited until she knew I had safely passed from your mother to you. When I did, she and her wielder left, knowing I could handle myself from then on in," C.C. chuckled, "I did figure out what was wrong with you though. Your heart wasn't developing fast enough to keep up with the rest of you. Also, you had a very strange birth defect."

"A strange birth defect?" Allen repeated.

"Yes," C.C. said, pointing at his wielder left shoulder, "While the rest of your limbs grew out perfectly, your left arm never developed at all."

"What!" Allen gasped.

"Yep. So I decided to use this to my advantage and joined your body as a parasitic type and give you a left arm. Unfortunately, your mother's body did not like me so I didn't turn out like I am now. Her immune system made me turn into that hideous red limb so not to cause anymore harm to you," C.C. stated, stretching his black left arm, "Then of course, you were a very silent baby. You didn't like to move around a lot so to keep your mother from worrying, I would gently move to greet her. Let's just say the next three months were torturous for me. Your mother had a very annoying voice."

Allen just laughed at that before a troubled face was brought to C.C.'s attention, "So…why did she truly give me up?"

"Well, in all honestly, it wasn't your mother's decision," C.C. sighed, "Your father was the one that gave you up."

"What?" Allen blinked.

"Your mother truly loved you, Allen," C.C. smiled warmly at the boy, wiping a stray tear that was slowly making it's way out of his eye, "but after she had you, she started to get sick more often. When you turned one, your mother came down with pneumonia. Your father thought that it was you, with your deformed arm, that was determined to get rid of you. So one night, while your mother slept, you father sold you off to a circus as a slave. After that, I don't know what really happened. I do know that a piece of innocence has lately taken up residence at their home. He tells me that your mother has had twins little girls but she still cries for the "kidnapper" who stole her little boy to bring him back."

"I-I have sisters?" Allen whimpered as more tears fell from his eyes.

"Yes," C.C. smiled, before looking sternly at Allen, "You do know that you can never see them though, right?"

Allen just nodded as more tears rushed out of his eyes, "B-But it hurts…"

"I know," C.C. said as he pulled the crying boy into his arms, "but at least you know that they're safe and you really weren't completely abandoned."

Allen just nodded as he fought to quell his tears. C.C. smiled and gently patted the boy's head. It was hard. All the boy had ever known was rejection and lies. To find out that your weren't really let go of by the one that you thought you were and are longed for is a lot to take in. But it was something that he needed to know. No…Allen didn't need to know but he deserved to know.

"But…you know something, C.C.?" Allen whimpered, drying his tears with the back of his hand, "I'm still confused about something."

"And what is that?" C.C. chuckled gently, standing up to get out.

"Why does Innocence pick those that suffer as accommodators?" Allen whispered, barely loud enough for C.C. to hear, "Why do you pick the ones that have already suffered and bring them into this war that is filled with nothing but suffering?"

* * *

_**Mizu: I'm going to try and hurry and get the next chapter out because the question stated above has been driving me crazy for the past few weeks!**_

_**Allen: And you make me a whimpering baby again…**_

_**Mizu: Hush up. At least you don't have to deal with the Noah messing with you!**_

_**Allen: *sighs* this is true, I guess.**_

_**C.C.: Why do I seem like such a strange guy?**_

_**Mizu: Well, isn't innocence itself strange? Don't you have strange abilities that should never exist?C.C.: Touché. **_

_**Mizu: Anyways, reviews are still extremely welcomed and loved! Same goes for suggestions and anything else you guys can think of! Ciao for now!**_


	8. Linked pasts

_**Mizu: Such a long time since I last updated on this story. Sorry bout that, guys. To make it up to you, I'm gonna just say this. I have a sneaky feeling that this story is going to be like An Innocent Heart. It's going to be long with a very winding plot. But who knows? Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, I would have killed off Leverrier by now.**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Eight: Linked pasts.**_

* * *

"Why does Innocence pick those that suffer as accommodators?" Allen whispered, barely loud enough for C.C. to hear, "Why do you pick the ones that have already suffered and bring them into this war that is filled with nothing but suffering?"

C.C. stiffened instantly. He tried to convince himself that he hadn't heard Allen properly. That Allen had asked something totally different. But he knew better. He knew what Allen asked. He tried to search Allen's mind for the reason as to why but found that his mind was still closed off.

'Crap…this kid's too damn smart for his own good,' C.C. cursed to himself.

"What are you talking about, Allen?" C.C. smiled gently back at his wielder, "We only pick those that we feel we can join with. It's just something that happens at random, you know that."

'Liar,' Allen thought to himself, glaring a little at his innocence.

'Fuck…' C.C. thought, hoping not to show how uncomfortable he was.

Allen stayed quiet as he stared at his innocence. He knew that there was more to it than that. The way his innocence was acting proved it. He knew that his innocence was hiding something from him but decided not to pressure him. If he needed to know, then his innocence would eventually tell him.

"Alrighty then," Allen sighed, "Then how about you answer this question."

"A-And what would that question be?" C.C. stuttered.

"When we were in the Asain Branch after Tyki "destroyed" you, why was it that I had such a hard time regaining you?" Allen asked, placing his hand on his hip.

"Eh?" C.C. gasped, "U-Um…Well, the form you first had me in was very hard on both you and I. When you were trying to regain me, I couldn't uphold that form any longer and neither could your body. So it seemed like the perfect time for us to become one with my real weapon's form."

"I see," Allen whispered, eyes locked on the floor, just knowing that there was probably more to it than that.

Sighing, he slowly stood up and walked passed his innocence. Allen stopped in the doorway and looked back at his innocence and sighed, "You really should open up to me more, though C.C. We won't be able to work as well together if we have secrets kept from each other."

With that, Allen left to get dressed, waiting for his innocence to do the same. Both knew that Allen was right. C.C. sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the doorway and looked in to the changing area where his wielder was. He really did hate to hide this stuff from Allen. But he was under orders. In fact, he probably said more than he should have. He knew that he shouldn't have told Allen about his parents or even how they came to be joined together. It was just…Allen was just…

C.C. chuckled as he watched his wielder nearly face plant while trying to put on his pants with one arm. It truly was something entertaining for C.C. He knew that his wielder was a stubborn boy and that he was slowly growing even more obstinate. Because of all of the new emotions and hormones racing through him, it made Allen even more cautious to the things around him. But that would soon come to pass. The two of them just had to wait until puberty finished with the white-haired teen.

"Need help, baka?" C.C. laughed as Allen nearly face-planted again.

"No!" Allen snapped, smiling a bit afterwards.

'Maybe…just maybe I can learn to like this side of him,' Allen thought, 'Just like a-'

"Moyashi-chan!" Lavi's voice shrieked as he tackled the already struggling boy to the ground.

"What the hell, Lavi!" Allen snapped at the redhead.

"I can't get O.K. to leave me alone!" Lavi cried, face bright red, "He keeps showing me the worst kind of stuff!"

"Ha! Now you know how it feels!" Allen laughed at his friend.

"Wah! You're so mean, Moyashi-chan!" Lavi whined, crying even more as his face started to match his hair.

"Alright, I'll help you out," Allen chuckled, "You need to close your mind to your innocence's. Try picturing a hallway connecting the two of your minds then just shut your door."

"I'll try," Lavi whimpered as he closed his eye.

Allen took this chance to stand back up and work on getting his undershirt on before Lavi pulled him into a suffocating hug.

"Thank you, Moyashi-chan!" Lavi half sang before running out of the room to go find his innocence.

"Yeah, whatever," Allen chuckled, pulling on his long sleeve shirt before calling after him, "And it's Allen, Lavi! Don't let that idiot BaKanda influence you!"

"Don't let Mugen hear that, baka," C.C. chuckled, helping his wielder with the buttons on his shirt.

"I wasn't planning on it," Allen stated, "So what do you think O.K. showed Lavi?"

"Flashbacks with his previous lovers. We all use them because they're normally the quickest way to get you guys to shut your minds," C.C. smirked, "Besides that, Lavi's a mini womanizer, right?"

"Yeah," Allen nodded as his innocence quickly got dressed.

"Well, O.K. is bi," C.C. smirked, "And he greatly enjoys the company of a good male companion."

'5...4...3...2...1,' C.C. counted down in his head before Allen busted up in laughter and ran out of the bathhouse to rub his new blackmail into the redhead's face.

* * *

"So, how's Kanda doing?" C.C. asked Mugen as she stood against the wall of the training room.

"Just when I think he's got it, he loses it," Mugen sighed, "I don't get it. I don't know why he's having such a hard time with closing his mind."

"hm…" C.C. shrugged before a dark grin appeared on his face, "But what if we gave him new material to see?"

"What about your wielder?" Mugen chuckled, "I thought he was too young."

"He's already figured out how to block me off," C.C. smirked, pulling Mugen close to him, "Now what do you say?"

"Since when have I ever even thought of saying no?" Mugen smirked.

* * *

"Here you go, Kanda," Allen sighed as he placed a cup of tea next to his rival.

"You're so nice, Moyashi-chan!" Lavi beamed from behind him along with his innocence.

"I swear that you're a mini C.C.!" O.K. laughed loudly, "But you know, without the evil meanness and all."

Allen just sighed as he took a long drink from his tea. He slowly opened his mind to C.C. to see if he could just maybe find some answers that way. He was hoping that C.C. hadn't blocked off his mind. He hadn't.

Allen's face turned a very dark red as he spat out his tea, hitting Timcampy as it flew up to him. Kanda dropped the cup of tea that he had just received as his face quickly flushed a bright red. Lavi and O.K. blinked in slight confusion as Allen and Kanda stormed off to the next training room over. There were some very loud yelling with some laughter, most likely from C.C., mixed in.

The next thing that Lavi and his innocence knew was that C.C. was running through the room with a red and enraged Allen chasing after him. O.K. started laughing his head off when he realized what had happened. It took Lavi a little longer, though. He finally got it when Mugen walked in with her hair and top messed up and a fuming Kanda behind her. The redhead exploded in laughter.

'This is great!' Lavi thought, as Allen tackled his innocence to the ground, 'These innocence are so much fun!'

"What's wrong with you!" Allen shouted at his innocence.

C.C. fought to keep his laughter in check, "I-I thought you had your mind closed off."

"I did until I thought that I could trust you enough!" Allen snapped, glaring at his weapon.

"Walker!" Link's voice sounded from the doorway.

'Great. A Central idiot,' O.K. growled inside of Lavi's mind.

'I know. The barer of bad news,' Lavi agreed.

"Link?" Allen blinked as he watched the blonde nervously walk in, "What's wrong?"

"C.C. needs to quickly change back into your arm," Link said quickly.

"Why?" Allen asked.

"Walker!" Leverrier's voice echoed through the halls.

"Oh…" Allen groaned.

"Dammit," C.C. growled, standing up quickly, "Knew it wouldn't be much longer till he got here."

"I was hoping for at least one more day to enjoy the peace before being forced back out in this form," Mugen sighed.

"You said it," O.K. agreed, stretching a bit, "By the way, does anyone have a 10-4 on T.R.?"

"T.R.?" the exorcists questioned.

"Time Record," O.K. smirked, "He and Miranda should be close to linking together."

"He!" Lavi and Allen gasped.

"Oh, would you drop it, O.K.?" Mugen sighed, "T.R. isn't going to fully link with Miranda until he knows that she can handle it. If he did it right now, that girl would suffer a heart attack due to an enormous panic attack."

"Yeah, yeah," O.K. sighed, "But it would be funny to see~!"

"Walker!" Leverrier shouted again, marching into the room with Komui and Bak close behind.

Flinching at his tone of voice, Allen just looked over at where Leverrier was. He really didn't want to face the Central agent. Every time he did, he took a huge step closer to being tried for heresy. He did not want to go through that. As he watched in dread and fear, Allen accidentally left his mind wide open to his innocence. Reading all the fear and pain of his weilder, C.C. felt his protective nature emerge. As Leverrier grew closer, C.C. pulled his wielder behind him before glaring down the Central agent.

"Why haven't you checked in with Inspector Link!" Leverrier bellowed, stopping in front of C.C.

"A-A lot of things have happened recently," Allen weakly said, peaking out from behind the innocence.

"What would be more important?" Leverrier demanded.

"Um…my innocence detaching itself from me and transform into a human form," Allen answered.

"That's what we've been trying to tell you sir," Komui stated, "The innocence has the ability to reach this form if all the needs are met."

"Impossible," Leverrier growled.

"It's not!" Bak snapped, "Look! The man in front of Walker is his innocence!"

Leverrier glared at C.C., "…Move aside boy."

"No," C.C. growled.

"I said move boy," Leverrier snapped.

"And I said no," C.C. said, glaring down the brute in Central clothing.

"Just who the hell are you?" Leverrier demanded.

"His innocence," C.C. snapped, "And you have no right to talk to me or my accommodator like this!"

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Leverrier growled, "There has never been an innocence that could take the form of a human all of history-"

"And you would know this how?" C.C. chortled, "You aren't an exorcist. You aren't a Bookman. You aren't Hevlaska!"  
"Hevlaska?" Leverrier repeated.

"Yes. She knew but was told to never to tell anyone until an innocence reached this form," C.C. said, glare still in place.

"So she knows?" Leverrier questioned.

"Why don't you go interrogate her before you even think of pestering any one of our wielders, especially mine?" C.C. growled, "Cause I swear that if you try to hurt my accommodator, there will be nothing holding me back from killing you with my own bare hands."

"You can't do that! You're innocence!" Leverrier snapped.

"Ah! See! You admitted it!" C.C. shouted, "And don't give me that "you're innocence" crap. Innocence has hurt humans before. We kill those that you tried to force innocence upon because they aren't meant to be wielders. We harm those that try to hurt our wielders. If you ever think that we can't harm humans then you'd be wrong. Dead wrong."

With that, C.C. turned around and pushed Allen out of the room. After a moment of pure silence, all of the other pieces of innocence quickly led their respective wielder out after them. The two scientists, however, didn't get their chance to retreat.

"Komui!" Leverrier snapped.

"Yes sir?" Komui flinched.

"Take me to Hevlaska's chamber," Leverrier ordered.

* * *

"I'm impressed, C.C.!" Mugen laughed, "You didn't lose your temper at that bastard!"

"You have no idea how hard it was not to," C.C. sighed, rubbing his head.

"Yeah but still," O.K. beamed, "You could have given him a taste of his own medicine and gotten him to shut up that way."

"Now what good would that have done?" C.C. questioned, exasperated.

"He wouldn't dare even look at Allen wrong again!" O.K. laughed.

"Baka!" Mugen snapped, hitting the other upside the head, "That wouldn't do any good!"

"Why not!" O.K. whined.

"Because Allen would be put on trial for heresy in a heartbeat," Lavi said, plopping down next to his innocence.

"Hey," C.C. waved, "Where's baka and BaKanda?"

"Oi," Mugen growled.

"Allen's forcing himself to eat his normal proportions in his old appetite and Yuu is meditating in his room," Lavi sighed.

"He's eating on his own?" C.C. blinked.

"Yeah," Lavi nodded, "But I think it's just cause he doesn't want to talk with anyone right now. He's still freaked a little bit."

"Can't say that I blame him," C.C. sighed, "Oi, O.K., go get us something to drink."

"Hell no. I don't want to be the one to get you drunk," O.K. shook his head.

"You can get drunk?" Lavi blinked.

"Only if our wielders do," Mugen smiled.

"Unless we drink a whole bunch. Then we get buzzed while you guys are fall over drunk," O.K. said.

"Fun," Lavi chuckled.

"What can we do for you, flame?" C.C. questioned.

"Care to answer a question of mine?" Lavi asked.

"Sure thing," Mugen smiled.

"Why does it seem that everything big that's been happening has happened after Allen came to the Order and even more do when C.C. started really playing at this war?" Lavi asked.

"…Because Allen's special," C.C. sighed, "And I myself am special."

"…you're not going to tell me anything else, are you?" Lavi sighed.

"Nope," C.C. stated, eyes distant.

"Whatever," Lavi said as he stood up and stretched, "But you should really think of telling these things to Allen at least."

The three pieces of innocence watched as the redhead walked away. None of them spoke a word. They didn't have to. They all knew what the others were thinking. Lavi was right. At the very least, they would have to tell Allen.

"Why haven't you told him?" Mugen asked, leaning against C.C.

"I…I don't want him to know," C.C. sighed.

"You need to at least let him know why you two fit together perfectly," O.K. said, "And don't deny it. You've never fit with any other accommodator so completely. He is your ultimate accommodator."

"Shut up! I know that!" C.C. snapped.

"Then you need to go tell him!" O.K. snapped back.

"What? You want me to go right up to his face and say, "Hey baka! Guess what! You're my descendant from my second son and you look, act, and think just like my first son!" I don't think so!" C.C. shouted at the other two, "It just doesn't work that way!"

"You need to let go of the past!" O.K. shouted, standing up to face the fuming piece, "The Earl tricked you and your sister! He tricked all of us!"

"Then why don't you see why I can't let it go?" C.C. yelled.

"Because I understand where you're coming from!" O.K. screamed, "I'm still pissed off at him for making do that to my wife! We all hate him with all of our hearts!"

O.K. glared darkly at C.C., "But no more than you hate him. Out of all of us, you hate that creature more than anyone. He screwed your life completely over. Then he took it."

"Shut up…" C.C. glared.

"He first tricked your little sister into bringing back your best friend and her husband and trapped him into that cursed body before stealing her away from you and her new born baby," O.K. said, digging into old wounds, "Then he ordered your best friend to go on a killing spree, killing your mother, father, grandfather, brothers, and your only other friend. Your wife."

"Shut up," C.C. growled, temper flaring.

"The Earl had the gall to have her killed right in front of you. Then he just left," O.K. continued, "He left you, your two sons, and your sister's daughter there trembling in fear. He left you to live seven more years in pure fear. Then, when your first son fell ill and died, he returned to you in your anguish."

"Shut up!" C.C. snapped.

"He offered you a way to bring your son back to you," O.K. growled, "And you agreed. You forgot about all of the past just for the chance to see your son again. But yet, somewhere in the back of your mind, you could hear your sister screaming at you. But you didn't care. You just wanted to hold your precious son in your arms again."

"Shut up!" C.C. shouted.

"You were scarred when your son cursed at you for locking him away in that prison. Then you stood frozen as he ordered your son to kill you and then wear your skin," O.K. kept going, "Then, when you came back to the world with your sister as pieces of innocence, you had to watch from the sidelines as your second son and sister's daughter grew up and got married. You joined up with your son's friend, allowing you to see when he had his first child. Then your wielder died. You were forced to leave him again, this time to never see him again."

"I said shut up!" C.C. roared, lunging at the redhead.

"Admit it!" O.K. shouted, barely dodging the furious C.C., "You hate that piece of shit Earl! But you hate yourself even more for falling for it all! That's why you won't tell Allen any of this! You don't want to hurt him or ever lose him! Somewhere in your mind, Allen seems like, no is your son!"

"That's enough!" Mugen roared, pulling the two boys away from each other "Stop all of this right now!"  
"Mugen…" the two whimpered.

"It doesn't matter!" Mugen snapped, "So what if he thinks of Allen as his son? Isn't that what we all do! Hell, I know that I've always done that! All of my accommodators are like family to me but my true accommodators become my children! It's the same with all of us, O.K.! And so what if this is the first time C.C. has felt this way for an accommodator? It just means that he's starting to move on!

"And you," Mugen growled, turning to C.C., "You need to be quiet! Both of you! What if Allen heard you? What if anyone heard you two arguing?"

"You're right," both sighed, "Sorry."

"Good. Now let's go find our wielders, k?" Mugen said.

Unbeknownst to the three pieces, a certain redhead was hanging out in the cafeteria with very white-haired boy that they spoke of. Normally, this wouldn't be anything bad except that neither was talking. They were just sitting there in silence. Allen was praying that Leverrier wouldn't try to try him for heresy. Lavi was sitting there with his mind open to O.K.'s.

'What a development this is,' Lavi thought, slowly closing his mind to his innocence, 'Allen…none of us had any idea you were so special. It's no wonder that you're so connected to the war. Your descendants were the very first to be victimized…

'Still,' Lavi thought with a smile when he looked over to how happy Allen looked when C.C. entered the room, 'C.C. better tell you soon. You could use a good father right now…'

* * *

_**Mizu: Yay! Finished this chapter finally! Trust me, it's not that I didn't want to write on this story. It's just that I couldn't think of any good things to put in. **_

_**Allen: So…C.C. and I are related? **_

_**Mizu: Yep.**_

_**Allen: How…How does he know that?**_

_**Mizu: He just does, k?**_

_**Allen: But how-**_

_**Mizu: Remember guys, I enjoy all reviews! Ciao for now!**_

_**Allen: Tell me!**_


	9. A Rouge Bastard

_**Mizu: Wow…It's been a really long time since I've updated hasn't it? I really didn't mean to let this one to get away from me. It's just that I kept losing all of my ideas for it…That's not much better is it? Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. It's actually probably a good thing that I don't own it cause the chapters would be even further spread apart than they are now. That is if this story is anything to go by. Btw, sorry for the really jumpy chapter.**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Nine: A Rogue Bastard**_

* * *

"So what now?" Allen asked as he and his innocence walked towards the cafeteria, "Can I still use you in battle?"

"Yeah but for right now, I would appreciate it if I could walk around by myself," C.C. chuckled, "I really am enjoying having my own pair of legs."

"But if I'm in a bind, how do I...activate you?" Allen questioned, wondering if that terminology still applied.

"Just like you normally do," C.C. said, "But it might drain your energy faster when you do."

"What?" Allen gasped, "Why?"  
"Because your energy is my energy, baka," C.C. explained, "To change back into your weapon, it takes a lot of energy to achieve the correct form."

"Then why not change back into my arm before we go on a mission so I don't die cause I pass out from exhaustion in the middle of the fight!" Allen growled.

"What? And miss being able to mess with your head?" C.C. laughed.

Allen pouted, "You're a jerk."

"And you're a martyr that doesn't know how to pick his battles," C.C. smirked, "I have every right to be a jerk to you."

Allen just responded by pouting at his innocence. The innocence smirked at his immature wielder. He placed his left hand on top the teen's mop of hair and playfully ruffled it. Ignoring the glare he received, C.C. proceeded to march into the cafeteria.

"Good Morning~!" C.C. greeted as he dragged his accommodator in.

"Moyashi-chan~!" Lavi and O.K. cheered from their seats.

"You two seem to be in a good mood," Allen sighed as he sat next to the bubbly redhead.

"Who wouldn't be?" Lavi laughed, "I just watched Mugen chew out Yuu~!"

"Wha?" Allen gaped.

"Yep~!" Lavi nodded, "Apparently she was tired of him eating nothing but soba."

"Mugen actually can't stand the stuff anymore," O.K. chuckled as C.C. appeared with Allen's mountain of food.

Allen just groaned upon seeing all of the food, "I never thought there would come a day that I would hate to eat…"

"Well, things happen," C.C. chuckled, "So where is Mugen?"

"She stormed out after Yuu when he tried to retreat from her nagging," Lavi said, pointing to the doorway.

Allen watched as C.C. looked at the doorway longingly, "Go on, jerk."

"Huh?" C.C. blinked.

"You want to spend some alone time with Mugen, right?" Allen asked, shuddering slightly as his cheeks dusted lightly with red, "Go ahead. Don't let me and that BaKanda stop you two from being together."

C.C. just stared at his wielder for a second before pulling him into a tight hug, "Thank you!"

With that, the piece of innocence rushed off to his lover. Allen sighed as he closed off his mind and continued to eat. Slowly, a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Why'd you do that, Allen?" Lavi asked as O.K. helped himself to some of Allen's food.

"Do what?" Allen blinked.

"Let C.C. and Mugen get together today," Lavi pointed out while O.K. managed to cause a food avalanche, trapping himself.

"I just figure that it won't be long before we all become so busy that none of us will have any time to ourselves," Allen explained, eyes gaining a faraway look to them, "Besides, they haven't seen each other in forever, right?"

Lavi smiled warmly at the boy, "Right."

"Um…A little help here?" O.K. nervously chuckled from under the pile of dishes.

* * *

C.C. raced through the corridors, speeding past finders and fellow exorcists alike. He knew just where to go to find his beloved. After all, there was only one place she could even possibly be. With her accommodator, Kanda Yu. And where did Kanda spend most of his days when not on missions? Training. So, all C.C. had to do was head to the training rooms and-

The innocence stopped just before reaching the training rooms. He felt the tell-tale signs of separation from his accommodator. Cursing at how large the Order's building was, C.C. stomped back a little bit before leaning against the wall. His left arm ache slightly. How he wished that Allen's body could handle more distance between them. Hell, the kid's body couldn't even stand the average distance.

The innocence impatiently fiddled with his fingers, 'That's it. Baka and I are going to train his body to handle distance. No offence to the kid, but I do enjoy my alone time…'

* * *

Allen sighed as he walked through the halls of the Order. He saw Komui, Johnny, and Reever all heading his way along with Bak. Smiling, he continued to walk towards the four scientists until he felt it. Stopping midstride, earning himself some weird looks from the scientist, Allen froze as he felt pain starting to fill his body. It was a dull aching but he knew what it meant. He and C.C. were too far apart. Growling to himself, Allen turned on his heel and begun to walk in the opposite direction after apologizing to the scientists.

'That's the fifth time since C.C. and I separated for the day,' Allen thought to himself, 'I mean, I'm happy that he's getting to be with Mugen but if I had known that this would keep happening, I think I might have kept my mouth shut.'

Allen sighed as he yet again felt the dull aching throughout his body, 'Damn it, C.C.! Where are you! On the freaking first floor?'

* * *

"C.C.?" Mugen blinked as she walked out of the training rooms, "What are you doing here?"

C.C. smirked, "Baka gave me the day to spend however I want."

"Oh really?" Mugen smirked as she raised an eyebrow, "And what is it, may I ask, that you'd like to do?"

"Who me?" C.C. chuckled, pulling the female innocence into his arms, "I just want to spend the day with you doing things that will make our accommodators hate us later."

Mugen's eyes flash mischievously, "And what exactly would make them so furious at us?"

"You'll see," C.C. laughed as he picked her bridal style before he took off down the hallway.

Kanda walked out of the training room with his face tinted red, "Damn that baka Moyashi…"

And with that, Kanda effectively shut his mind off to his innocence.

* * *

Allen grumbled to himself as he slowly stomped down the final flight of stairs to the first floor. He had been randomly wandering around the Order all morning. Most of which was spent trying not to yell at the random finders and scientists who had yet to find out why he only had one arm. He couldn't even count how many times one would just gawk at his floating sleeve. Honestly, it wasn't his fault he didn't have his left arm, now was it? Nope. It was all genetics and C.C.'s fault.

"Excuse me," a male's voice sounded next to him as he stepped off the final stair.

"Huh!" Allen gasped, jumping to see the source.

When he finally spotted the source, Allen let out a soft sigh. The man who had spoken had light brown hair and was only about an inch taller than himself. Wire-rimmed glassed adorned his face. His clothes were all black and his top opened up to reveal another white top underneath. At the wrists of his black top had white, thick crosses on them. Around his neck was a cross…

'Is he a Cardinal or another clergy man?' Allen thought.

"Oh, hello there sir," Allen greeted, pasting his false smile upon his face, "What can I do to help you?"

"Yes. Do you know where I can find Allen Walker?" the man asked, returning his smile.

Allen flinched, "Th-That would be me."

"Really? Splendid," the man chuckled, "I would greatly enjoy a private audience with you."

"M-May I ask why?" Allen nervously laughed.

"I heard from Leverrier that your Innocence, Crown Clown, had reached its truest form," the man said, smile still in place, "I would love to find out more about it."

Allen watched as the man started down the hallway. He didn't know why, but just being around this man made the hairs on the back of his head stand up. Trying to shrug it off, the white-haired teen slowly followed behind the man. It wasn't that he wanted to. It was just that he didn't want to give Central anymore reason to distrust him.

Sighing, he rubbed his left shoulder. He ran his hand over where C.C. had once been attached to his person. His heart let out a slight ache as he thought about his innocence. The cursed teen just put it off as the piece inside of his heart missing the rest of itself. Looking around, the exorcist noticed that they seemed to be heading towards the entrance to the Order.

'That's strange…' Allen thought, 'Why would we go out this way? There really aren't any rooms down this way and it is pretty busy even if everyone is using the ark.'

* * *

"Any sign of akuma in town today?" Komui asked the group of three finders that stood in front of him.

"No sir," one shook his head.

"Good," Komui smiled.

"But…" another finder spoke up.

"But?" Komui repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"There isn't any sign of akuma," the second finder said.

"But there has been a string of random murders in town," the final finder said, a little uneasy, "They don't appear to be related to akuma in anyway but it might be a good idea to avoid the town for a while."

"…what kind of murders?" Komui hesitantly asked.

"It appears that whoever is doing this shoots the victim before they notice them," the first finder explained.

"Then it depends whether they're a man or woman," the second finder added.

"If the victim is a man, he just shoots them in the head and goes on his merry way," the third finder finished.

Komui gulped, "And if they are a woman."

The finders looked at each other nervously, "…Let's just say that it's not as benevolent as the quick, sudden death he serves the men…"

"R-Right," Komui stuttered, "Until the culprit has been captured, order all finders to return to the Order. No one shall go into town without an exorcist or at least some other form of protection."

"Yes sir!" the three finders said in unison.

* * *

"Yu-chan~!" Lavi cheered before rushing to glomp his self-proclaimed best friend.

"Don't call me that!" Kanda growled, holding off the rabbit with his hand, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"He got bored looking for Moyashi-chan," O.K. chuckled leaning against the wall.

"Yeah so we came here instead cause we knew that you would either be here or in the forest training," Lavi laughed.

"Che," Kanda scoffed.

O.K. laughed to himself as Lavi proceeded to pester the Japanese male to the point where he finally took to trying to physically hurt the rabbit. Not that there was a lot that Kanda could do without Mugen but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. As Lavi attempt to flee from Kanda's fists, O.K. took to looking out the window. This was nice. Being able to walk around freely, not having to worry about the life of his accommodator every second of every day. It was nice to have these lazy days.

_"Ōzuchi Kozuchi…" _a soft, female voice sounded in his head.

O.K. froze as his heart began to race, 'H-Heart…'

_"Thank goodness,"_ the woman's voice sighed, relieved.

In his shock, O.K. failed to notice Lavi's freezing when he realized that O.K. had failed to close off his mind, 'Wh-What's wrong?'

_"I have a job for you and your accommodator,"_ the Heart said, suddenly serious.

'Anything for you,' O.K. said.

_I have a major problem on my hands,"_ the Heart seemed to whimper, _"It has to do with the Apocryphos."_

'Apocryphos? You mean your current right hand helpers?' O.K. asked, confused.

_"Right,"_ the Heart sighed, "_But it seems that I have a rogue Apocryphos on my hands now."_

'What do you mean by a rogue Apocryphos?' O.K. questioned, still confused.

_"There is one among them that does not approve on how I'm allowing C.C. to handle Allen and the fourteenth Noah,"_ the Heart explained, _"He's positive that C.C. won't be able to stop the Noah because he's grown so attached to him."_

'That's nonsense!' O.K. snapped, "C.C. loves that kid more than anything in the world! That kid is like a freaking son to him! He's been with Allen since literally before the kid was even born! There's no way he would _**ever**_ let anything happen to Allen!'

_"I know. That' what I told him,"_ the Heart said sorrowfully, _"But he wouldn't listen. He kept proclaiming that if something wasn't done soon, Allen Walker would turn against us. He wants to join with Allen to prevent that._"

'What! That'll kill Allen!' O.K. shouted, ignoring how Lavi's face drained of all color, 'The kid's body can barely take being fully linked up with C.C.! Even if that bastard Noah were to act up, Allen would die and he would lose the body anyway. We all know that if the Noah wants to take over Allen's body, he has to do it when Allen's alive. He'd have to break the kid's very soul to conquer his body but that's not possible. The kid's too damn stubborn.'

_"Right," _the Heart agreed, _"But Allen's also gullible and will trust anyone he meets that doesn't activate his left eye. That's why I need you to find the bastard before he gets to Allen."_

'Why tell me thought?' OK. asked, 'Why not just tell C.C. about this?'

The Heart was silent for a moment, _"H-He's…He's busy right now…"_

O.K. blinked and stifled his laughter.

'What are we going to be looking for?' Lavi asked, startling O.K.

_"Anyone who does not belong in the Order," _the Heart said bluntly.

'How are we going to do that!' O.K. whined.

Lavi just glared at his innocence and pointed to himself, 'One word. Bookman.'

'O-Oh yeah,' O.K. nervously chuckled.

_"I don't know where he is right now but I would guess that he's in the Order searching for Allen as we speak,_" the Heart stated.

'And it just so happens to be the day that Allen gave C.C. some freedom to go have some alone time with Mugen,' O.K. sighed.

'Moyashi-chan really has rotten luck,' Lavi sighed.

_"I suppose so,"_ the Heart chuckled, _"Please tell C.C. that the next time I see him, I'm going to clock him."_

'R-Right,' O.K. nervously laughed.

_"Good luck you two,"_ the Heart said as her voice faded away.

"Well," Lavi said finally backed away from Kanda, "Let's go find Moyashi-chan and treat him to lunch, O.K."

Kanda just blinked as he watched the redhead and his innocence depart. He knew that something had just transpired between the two. He also knew that they were up to something. But he was having trouble wrapping his mind around one thing. Lavi had been quiet for a full ten minutes!

* * *

Allen leaned against a tree as the strange man tried to lead him even further away from the Order. His breath came in short pants while his heart pounded inside of his chest. He could feel sweat start to drip down his neck.

"S-Sir?" Allen called, trying to remember why he had even followed the man in the first place, "I really shouldn't be this far out from the Order."

"Don't worry about it," the man smiled, "I'll make sure that everything works out just fine."

"N-no," Allen shook his head, "I need to head back."

'I'm too far from C.C. If I go any further, I might really hurt myself. My body might even call C.C. to me while he's…busy,' Allen thought.

"Very well," the man sighed, "I suppose we can do it here instead."

Allen blinked at the man, "H-huh?"

Suddenly, Allen found his arm pinned to the tree above his head.

"This," the man sneered, bringing his face close to Allen's.

Before Allen could scream. Before he could even open his mind to C.C.'s, a shot rang out. His silver eyes widened as his jaw fell open. Pain filled his very being as a high scream escaped his throat. AS he screamed, the clergy man pinning him to the tree che'd and turned to face the source of the gunshot.

"Looks like a stumbled upon something interesting," a man chuckled darkly, holding a smoking gun in his hand, "A sinner in a priest's clothing trying to take advantage of such a beauty."

* * *

Lavi and O.K. sighed for the nth time since the Heart had contacted them. The two of them were scouting out all the areas for a familiar head of white with no luck.

"How hard is it to find this kid?" O.K. whined, "I mean, come on! It's not like he can actually hide very well with his features."

"True," Lavi agreed, noticing that they had reached the front entrance, "You don't think that he would have actually left the Order for a walk, do you?"

"No way," O.K. chuckled, "Not even Kanda would be dumb enough to leave the Order without his innocence."

"You're right," Lavi laughed, "There's no way Allen would be-"

The two froze when they heard a loud scream come from the other side of the entrance. The two exchanged nervous looks. That scream sounded a lot like…

"Shit!" the two snapped before racing out of the Order.

* * *

The clergy man released Allen, allowing him to slide down the tree. The exorcist clutched at the left side of his chest where the bullet had entered him. Never before had he ever thought that there was something that felt worse than being shot with a level one Akuma's bullets. Gritting his teeth, the white-haired teen made a solemn vow to find and destroy all guns when the chance was given to him. As his blood seeped out of the wound, Allen glared at the two men in front of him.

"Such a shame," the man with the gun said, "It looks like the girlie there won't be making it."

"Girlie!" Allen snapped, grimacing in pain.

"Such a feisty one at that," the man smirked before shrugging, "Oh well. I guess I'll just have to make due with adding another two bodies to the count."

"I despise interruptions," the clergy sighed.

'And I hate being thought as a girl and nearly molested by idiots like you,' Allen added mentally, preparing to open his mind to C.C.

"Oh well. You are such a horrible human, I'm sure no punishment will come from disposing of you," the clergy said, readjusting his glasses.

"Oh yea, old ma-" the gun wielder started to say.

Before he could even finish, the man was stabbed through the chest by some strange extension coming from the clergy man's hand. The man let out a horrible death rattle before falling face first onto the ground. Allen's silver eyes locked with the still standing man. He felt a chill run down his spine as the man smiled at him.

'Wh-What the hell just happen!' Allen screamed inside of his head, 'H-He just killed that man! I-Is he an exorcist?'

But if he was an exorcist, why was he filled with such terror just being around him? He had never felt this fear towards any other exorcist before. Even when confronted by General Socalo, Allen had never felt this fear towards a fellow innocence wielder. He couldn't even be sure if he had ever been so afraid in his life-

Allen's eyes widened even more. That was it. There was only one other time he had ever been so filled with terror. The night he was supposed to have died. The night Tyki Mikk ripped C.C. from his body then left him to die after placing a hole in his heart. That was the only other time he had been so afraid. When he was faced with the prospect of either dying or living but never again as an exorcist.

Gulping, Allen's eyes never left the man's face. Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, Allen struggled to stand. He had completely forgotten about opening his mind. His body stumbled backwards as the man walk towards him. When the man's mouth opened, the exorcist turned and sprinted back towards the Order.

'I-I just have to get back to the Order! H-He can't get to me there!' Allen thought as he ran, 'Th-That's why he led me all the way out here! He couldn't kill me inside of the Order! There's something that stopped him from doing so in those walls!'

He felt his spirit lift when he finally came in sight of the Order. A smile broke out on his face when he spotted two heads of red run out of the Order.

"Lavi!" Allen shouted on the top of his lungs, "O.K.! Thank goodness!"

"Allen!" Lavi shouted back, not noticing the man behind Allen.

O.K.'s eyes widened, "No! Behind you!"

Allen didn't even have time to turn around when he felt something hit his back, pushing him passed Lavi and his innocence and into a wall of the Order. Letting out a pained gasp, the white-haired teen tried to free himself when he felt something surround him and hold him to the wall. He could hear Lavi and O.K. screams for him before they were sending silent. Fearing the worse, Allen tried yet again to free himself.

"Not as strong without that idiot here to protect you, are you Walker?" the man whispered into his ear, "Don't worry. We'll take care of that little problem right now."

He could feel something drill into his body from a multitude of points. His body began to pulsate as a foreign power raced through his veins. Through his very cells. The exorcist let out an anguished cry, far louder and laced with pain than anything that had ever left his body. Nothing had ever hurt this much. Not even when he stabbed himself with C.C.

Lavi tried to free himself from the tree that he had been pinned against by the same strange solid substance that was drilling into Allen's body. He looked to his side and found his innocence also trapped. His eyes snapped back to Allen when he heard the most soul chilling scream ever emitted from the boy.

"Allen!" Lavi cried.

"Damn you, Apocryphos!" O.K. snapped, "Leave that boy alone! You're going to kill him!"

"H-He's the Apocryphos!" Lavi gasped.

"No," the now reveal Apocryphos shook his head, "I'm not killing him. I'm saving him."

"Damn it!" O.K. cursed.

"Where's C.C.!" Lavi shouted, "Shouldn't he have gotten here by now!"

"Allen's mind is still closed off to C.C.," O.K. growled, "That bastard has him so filled with terror that he's running off of instincts."

"Then why didn't he open his mind!" Lavi demanded.

"Think about it!" O.K. snapped, "Allen's never been without his innocence! Without it joined to him, he can't even defend himself! So his survival instincts took over when the bastard first revealed himself to Allen! He forced Allen's mind to overlook opening to C.C. in favor of responding to his Fight or Flight instinct!"

Lavi gritted his teeth, "Allen! Open your mind, Allen! You've got to tell C.C.!"

"Shut up, boy," the Apocryphos chuckled, "Walker is no longer able to call upon that idiot."

Allen never stopped screaming the entire time. He could feel something forcing itself through his body. It was searching for something. Not that Allen cared. He just wanted it to stop. Just to stop hurting him. It wasn't like he could do anything to stop…Suddenly, he felt something press against his heart. It sent out a wave of pain that was far more intense from anything before. But this pain somehow cleared his mind enough to think clearly for one thought.

'C.C.' Allen thought wearily as the world started to fade from view.

The white-haired teen quickly forced open the mental link between him and his innocence. Ignoring all of the sudden images that flooded his mind, Allen managed sent a single message through the link.

"C.C….H-Help!" Allen cried out, not even realizing that he had said it aloud.

* * *

C.C. sighed happily as he stared at his now sleeping lover. Smirking, the innocence made a mental note to thank his wielder immensely for allowing him the day to himself. As he stretched slowly, he felt the link between the two open.

"Looks like baka finally worked up enough courage to talk to me now," C.C. chuckled, accidentally stirring Mugen from her slumber.

"R-Really?" Mugen yawned, rubbing her eyes.

She noticed C.C.'s eyes widened as his entire body tensed. Before she could ask what was wrong, he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Wh-What's going on?" Mugen asked, quickly getting out of bed to dress and find her own wielder.

* * *

"Allen!" C.C. shouted, filling his wielder with his own power to push out the trespassing innocence's, "Damn it!"

Lavi blinked as a bright light surrounded Allen. When his eyes could see clearly again, he saw the Apocryphos standing a distance away from the white-haired teen, clutching at a hole in his chest. Looking back to where Allen had been, the redhead let out a sigh of relief when he saw the said exorcist being cradled to C.C.'s chest.

"Thank goodness," Lavi weakly smiled at his innocence.

"Don't relax just yet," O.K. growled, pumping his own power into Lavi's being to free them both from their entrapment.

"Fuck," Lavi growled as his senses were flooded with power, "Is that what Allen feels every time he uses C.C.? Damn, I don't know if I could handle it."

"Good thing you don't have to," O.K. chuckled before getting serious, "Apocryphos aren't push overs. They are some of the strongest pieces of innocence out there."

"But what about C.C.?" Lavi asked, suddenly worried.

O.K. sighed, "Truthfully, C.C. should be an Apocryphos but he chose to stay with his accommodators to allow himself to be used better on the front lines."

"Is that a bad thing?" Lavi asked.

"No," O.K. shook his head, "Just means that if these two go for an all-out battle, C.C. will be at a disadvantage because he has to protect Allen."

"Damn," Lavi cursed, "So should we help out?"

"Well duh," O.K. joked before changing into his weapon form, '_It would be stupid if we didn't_.'

* * *

_**Mizu: *growls very angrily* I. Hate. Apocryphos. **_

_**Lavi: Then why did you write about one!**_

_**Mizu: Because it's a bloody good idea for a conflict! But just because it's a good idea and makes for good story telling, it doesn't mean that I have to like them! It's like Leverrier! Nobody likes him but yet we all write with him in our stories. Just because we don't like him doesn't mean that we are willing to miss out on the opportunity to keep an even greater story by using him as a pawn.**_

_**O.K.: That makes a fair amount of sense.**_

_**Lavi and C.C.: *nods thoughtfully***_

_**Mizu: Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take my frustration of college out on several other stories. Remember that I love all reviews and suggestions. Ciao for now!**_

_**Lavi: But wait…Why did you do all of that to Allen and that random guy!**_

_**Mizu: Sorry, can't hear you over the sounds of my typing Lavi!**_


	10. Stubborn Heart

_**Mizu: Woot! Two chapters within a week's time! Mizu is happy! By the way, I'm going to try to make this story my new main focus, seeing as An Innocent Heart is done with. Though, that may not work out, I'm gonna try for it! Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, Leverrier would be dead and Allen, Lavi, and Kanda would all be at the Order, never having heard the mention of the Fourteenth Noah. **_

_**Btw, I'm celebrating the fact that this story now has 100 reviews! *proceeds to do the happy dance through the whole chapter***_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter 10: Stubborn Heart**_

* * *

C.C. glared at the Apocryphos as he held Allen close to him. His eyes shifted down over his accommodator's chest. His eyes darkened as his eyes settled on the blood soaking the teen's shirt and vest. Holding him even tighter, the innocence returned his glare back up to the traitor. A low growl left his throat.

"Bastard," C.C. growled, "Why! Why did you attack my accommodator!"

"_**He's a rouge, C.C.**_," O.K.'s voice sounded from his weapon form.

"Holy-" Lavi gasped, "You can even talk in this form!"

"_**Now's not the time to be surprised!**_" O.K. snapped.

"What do you mean he's a rouge?" C.C. questioned, eyes never leaving the Apocryphos as it healed.

"_**He's gone against the Heart**_," O.K. stated causing C.C.'s eye's to widen, "_**He thinks that Allen's a threat as he is. He wants to join with Allen to "save" him.**_"

"The boy is a threat," the Apocryphos interjected, "The Noah that resides in him will one day take over his body. He holds a power that needs to be dealt with before it gets out of hand."

"Which is what I am doing!" C.C. snapped, "I've protected Allen ever sin-"

"You're only interested in protecting him!" the Apocryphos snapped, "You aren't looking at the big picture! You're letting this bond between the two of you get in the way of your vision!"

C.C.'s eyes narrowed, "How is protecting this child getting in the way of anything!"

"You are blind to the real world! You've locked yourself away in this false world, telling yourself that it will be alright if you just overlook everyone else so long as that brat is safe!" the Apocryphos yelled, charging at C.C.

"I haven't overlooked anything!" C.C. snapped, jumping away with Allen in his arms, "Rather, I've finally opened up my eyes!"

"_**Lavi!**_" O.K. shouted.

"I'm on it!" Lavi shouted, charging passed C.C. and towards the Apocryphos.

Extending O.K.'s hammer form, Lavi smashed his innocence down on top of the Apocryphos. Smirking as a fire seal spread out on the earth, the redhead felt the hammer tremble with O.K.'s laughter.

"_**Take that, you independent bastard~!**_" O.K. chuckled darkly.

"Do you really think that such a weak attack would hurt me?" the Apocryphos's voice sounded from beneath O.K.

"Huh?" Lavi blinked.

Suddenly**, **the redheaded teen found himself flying through the air along with his innocence. He reached out for his weapon desperately. O.K. was trying to change back into his human form as fast as possible. Just as O.K. managed to change back, Lavi's back flew into a tree trunk. His head collided with the tree a second after. Letting out a pained gasp, the exorcist slowly slid down to the ground.

'Sh-shit,' Lavi thought as O.K. rushed to his side right before passing out, 'A-Allen…'

"Bastard," C.C. growled, narrowly dodging another attack from the independent innocence, "O.K.! Is Lavi alright!"

"Oi~! Stop worrying about what's happening over here!" O.K. snapped, "Just get your butt back into the freaking Order!"

"What!" C.C. snapped.

"He led Allen out here for a reason!" O.K. yelled, "He didn't want to touch him while in the Order!"

"Why on earth-" C.C. shouted, jumping out of the way of yet another attack, "would he care about that!"

"Hm, I don't know. How about the entire Order being filled with almost all of the current exorcists that will willingly come running to his aide!" O.K. snapped.

C.C. grimaced as he took a blow to his back to protect his wielder. He fell down to the ground, holding Allen close to his chest. Watching the Apocryphos walk over to them slowly, C.C. growled at the traitor.

"Come on," C.C. growled, turning back to Allen, "Wake up, baka. I can't fight and protect you like this."

"Give it up," the Apocryphos smirked, "Even if he managed to call for you, all of the damage that I did to his system then you suddenly flooding him with your power will keep him out for a long time."

"Shut up," C.C. snarled, clutching Allen tighter, "If there is one thing that I've learned since being with him, never count this baka out. He is the definition of miracles."

The Apocryphos just shook his head, "You just don't see it, do you? That kid is ruining you. You're weak now. You can't even fight me, can you?"

"Tch," C.C. sounded.

'He's right though,' C.C. growled to himself, 'If I flat out fight him, I risk him going after Allen at some point or the flux in my power could hurt him even more. But…'

C.C. looked at Allen again, 'But if I don't fight, then Allen will die no matter what…'

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" the Apocryphos chuckled, transforming his entire arm.

"_**No you don't!**_" Mugen's voice roared down from above.

The Apocryphos dived out of the way as Kanda descended down from the sky, Mugen drawn in her katana form. The samurai gave a quick glance back at the innocence on the ground and the out cold Moyashi. He che'd before turning his attention back to the enemy. Mugen's form seemed to shake as he glared down the strange being.

"_**Damn you,**_" Mugen growled, anger lacing her voice, "_**How dare you turn against us! Why would you ever think of harming one of our accommodators!**_"

"I've said it before. That boy will be our undoing unless we act now," the Apocryphos sighed.

"_**Like hell he will!**_" Mugen snapped, "_**Even if C.C. wasn't looking out for him, Allen would never turn his back on us! He would rather die than do that!**_"

"Then die he shall," the Apocryphos shrugged.

"_**Fuck you!**_" Mugen shouted as Kanda rushed forward.

C.C. stared in awe for a moment. He didn't know how Mugen found out that they were in trouble but he honestly didn't care. Struggling to stand without dropping Allen, C.C. felt his heart drop. The teen's complexion had paled even further than what was normal for him. His breathing was barely even noticeable. The bullet wound in his chest was still bleeding out. Gritting his teeth, the innocence took off towards the Order.

'I'm sorry,' C.C. thought, not looking back to the fight, 'But I can't let him die because of this…I can't lose another son…'

"No!" the Apocryphos shouted, throwing Kanda towards where Lavi laid.

C.C. barely jumped out of the way before the Apocryphos's attack landed where he had just been. Cursing, the innocences' watched as the Apocryphos lost its human like form. They each flinched as they watched him take a form that resembled the zombie-ish appearance that each of the Order's members had taken during the outbreak of the Komuvitan D. An involuntary shudder went through all of them.

"There's no escape, Crown Clown," the Apocryphos hissed.

"Damn it!" C.C. snapped.

"C-C.C.," Allen's weak voice souned.

"A-Allen!" C.C. gasped, shock spreading throughout the battle field.

"A-Act,..A-Activate," Allen managed to get out.

"Right," C.C. nodded, quickly turning into his weapon form.

Before Allen's body could hit the ground, C.C. wrapped his Clown Belt around his accommodator's body. Allen let out a pained cry as C.C. helped hold him upright. Biting down on his lip, the exorcist clutched at the wound on his chest. His breathing was ragged as his eyes settled into a glare directed to the Apocryphos.

"Wh-Who," Allen grimaced, "Who the hell are you!"

"An independent innocence," the Apocryphos answered.

Allen stumbled a little before C.C. steadied him, "_**Calm down, baka. We can win no-OI! Don't pass out on me!**_"

"S-Sorry," Allen said weakly, "I-I can't help it…L-Lost too much blood…"

C.C. slowly brought the mask down over Allen's eyes, "_**Then let me do the fighting. Just stay awake.**_"

Allen just nodded.

"You can't win," the Apocryphos said, "I will join with Allen Walker and prevent the Noah's rebirth!"

"_**There will never be a rebirth! I would never allow that to happen to Allen!**_" C.C. roared, charging forward at the Apocryphos.

"Stop just thinking about the brat!" the Apocryphos shouted, "Think about the world!"

"_**I am!**_" C.C. snapped, "_**By protecting Allen from such a fate, I am protecting the world!**_"

"You're just being selfish!" the Apocryphos growled as the two clashed.

"_**So what if I am!**_" C.C. shouted, dodging a low attack, "_**I have always been a selfish bastard! The Heart has always told me so! So why should this time be any different!**_"

"Because if you fail, we will all-" the Apocryphos started to say.

"Shut up!" Allen screamed, "I am not a Noah! I'm an exorcist!"

The Apocryphos narrowly dodged a fast swipe at his gut, "That doesn't mean that you won't change!"

"I will never turn my back on C.C.!" Allen screamed, slashing wildly at the traitor innocence, "Never!"

"It doesn't matter what you say!" the Apocryphos roared, somehow managing to stab Allen in the exact spot of his bullet wound.

Allen's scream was heard throughout the entire area. Every single person in the Order stopped with whatever they were doing as the scream echoed through the halls. Eyes widened. Exorcists activated their innocence. The second it stopped, the entire Order was abuzz like a beehive.

"_**Allen!**_" C.C. cried out, instantly reverting back to his human form, cradling Allen in his arms.

"Gotcha," the Apocryphos smirked.

"Like hell you do!" C.C. snapped, ripping the strange appendages out of Allen's chest as well as another scream from his accommodator, "Sorry!"

Allen's eyes were shut tight as he tried to ignore the pain coursing through his body. He fought to stay conscious. He could hear C.C.'s cries for him. All he wanted to do was tell his innocence that he was alright. Just to try and calm down the only person that had never abandoned him. He just wanted to show him that he wasn't going to leave him like his other accommodators had.

"Allen! Don't you dare die on me!" C.C. cried, shaking the boy slightly, "You can't die! I can't lose you too! I can't go through that again! Don't die!"

He could feel Allen's heart trying to slow. The piece of himself that rested inside of the teen's heart sent several jolts of power to get it back up to speed. Tears of red freely fell from C.C.'s eyes. He watched them fall onto Allen's face, sending him hysterics. No, not again. He couldn't lose another one. He just couldn't lose Allen. Not again.

'I won't die,' Allen said through their link weakly.

"Allen!" C.C. gasped, eyes wide.

'I won't die,' Allen repeated, strength fading, 'Not when everyone is fighting for me to live…Not after just finding out that my mother actually loved me. I-I'm not gonna…die.'

C.C. felt Allen's mind go blank as his wielder finally passed out. He shook him, praying that he would wake again. The teen remained motionless in his arms. A smile still firmly in place on his face. More tears of red slipped from C.C.'s eyes and onto Allen's face. Gently laying him down, the innocence stood up.

"Hang tight, baka," C.C. said softly before glaring at the Apocryphos.

"You're still here?" the Apocryphos blinked, "Guess the brat's inherited the Noah's stubborn will."

C.C. suddenly appeared in front of the Apocryphos, latching onto the traitor's throat, "Shut your filthy mouth!"

Changing his left arm into Edge End, C.C. proceeded to punctuate each of his words with a damaging swipe of his claws, "Allen. Is. Not. A._ Fucking_._** Noah!**_"

With one final swipe, C.C. sent the Apocryphos flying into one of the many trees. He wiped his eyes to clear his vision. Quickly scanning the battle area, he took, note of Mugen and O.K. tending to their own accommodators. His own thoughts settled back on Allen.

'I can't let this drag on any longer,' C.C. growled to himself, 'No matter what he says, Allen's dying…I've got to get him away from this before it's too late.'

"That actually hurt," the Apocryphos chuckled, staggering in front of C.C., "I forgot how strong you were."

C.C. just glared at the traitor.

"Hm? Shouldn't you be a little more angry at me?" the Apocryphos pointed out.

'Fuck yes I should be!' C.C. roared inside of his mind, 'But if I just let go and release my anger, I could seriously hurt Allen…Damn it. I'm still at a major disadvantage.'

The Apocryphos smirked, "I suppose this could work as well."

"What could?" C.C. growled.

"I could just keep you busy until the brat dies," the Apocryphos chuckled darkly, "Even you know that he isn't going to last much longer in this situation."

"Damn you," C.C. hissed, starting to charge forward.

He was suddenly brought to his knees as he felt a familiar pain rush through him. He immediately turned back to his wielder. Crawling to him as fast as he could, C.C. fought through all of the pain that flooded him. Allen was dying. He had lost too much blood. Cursing, C.C. tried to change back into Allen's arm to help him regulate what he had left and give him the blood that flowed through him. The Apocryphos was faster and kicked the now weakened piece of innocence over to his lover.

"C.C.!" Mugen gasped.

"D-Don't worry about me!" C.C. coughed, "Save Allen!"

"Change back into his arm!" O.K. snapped as Mugen raced off towards the Apocryphos.

"I'm trying to!" C.C. cried out, "He's gone into shock! You know as well as I do that if he's gone into shock, that makes it infinitely harder to rejoin with him!"

O.K. paled as Mugen was blasted back over to them.

"Shit!" all three shouted.

"Allen!" C.C. screamed.

A bright light suddenly surrounded Allen right before the Apocryphos could land his final blow. All of the innocence dropped their jaws as the light faded to reveal a woman with long blonde hair that reached the back of her thighs with bright red streaks. Her eyes would have been a stunning emerald had it not been for the anger running through them. She wore a long black dress that stopped just before her ankles. If Lavi had been awake, no matter the situation, he surely would have shouted "Strike!".

"Damn, I was too late," the woman cursed, staring sadly at Allen.

"S-Sister!" C.C. cried, racing back to Allen's side.

"What the hell were you doing!" she snapped.

"…I-I'm sorry," C.C. whimpered, cradling Allen to his chest, "P-Please though…Please save Allen."

"Of course I am!" she snapped at him, causing him to flinch, "What kind of idiot do you take me for? Honestly, the name baka fits you better than it ever will for your wielder!"

'S-she hasn't changed one bit,' Mugen and O.K. gulped.

"H-Heart-sama," the Apocryphos whimpered.

The piece named the Heart glared at the traitor piece, "You have disobeyed me at every turn. Now you shall pay the price."

"I-I was only acting in the best interest of the world, mi lady!" the Apocryphos cried.

"Which makes you no better than the bastards that we fight!" she bellowed, shaking the ground, "You have forgotten the second requirement that I put in place when we came here to fight!"

"But mi lady!" the Apocryphos tried to reason.

"Silence!" she snapped, jolting Kanda and Lavi back into awareness as the earth threatened to open at her voice, "You have forgotten of the love for others and the urge to protect all those that you hold the most precious! I gave each of piece of innocence the right to fight more aggressively and to hold those that they care for higher than the rest of the world!"

"But that brat holds our enem-" the Apocryphos started to argue.

"C.C. contacted me the instant he found out!" the Heart growled, "After he told me about it, I ordered him to either forge a contract with the bastard or end his existence right away! Since he did not destroy the Noah back then, it means that he and the bastard came up with an agreement!

"You are a rouge Apocryphos who has gone against my word and attacked not only your fellow innocence and their accommodators, you attacked my brother!" the Heart roared, holding her open hand out towards him.

"N-No! Please reconsider, Heart-sama!" the Apocryphos pleaded as he fell to his knees.

"You are no longer needed for this war," the Heart said coldly, "Goodbye."

The Apocryphos was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant light that ascended into sky above. After a few moments, the light began to shrink until it fully disappeared. The Heart smiled sadly at the spot that Apocryphos had disappeared from.

"Thank you for your work. Please rest in peace, away from the wretched hatred and war of this world," the Heart said sadly.

Mugen shivered violently, "I hate when she does that!"

"No kidding," O.K. whimpered, wrapping his arms around himself, "I don't care what the reason is. The fact that if she needs to, she can send us back freaks the crap out of me."

"S-So that's the Heart?" Lavi stuttered, trying to sit up.

"Yeah," O.K. nodded, picking up his wielder, "That's the head of it all."

"Wh-Why is she here?" Kanda struggled to say as he leaned on Mugen's shoulders.

The two pieces exchanged a mischievous look, "Let's just say that she loves her big brother more than anything else in this world."

"Y-You can save him, right sis?" C.C. asked nervously as his sister finally turned her attention back to his wielder.

She just glared at him as she ran her left hand over Allen's wound, "Shut up Aniki. He'll live."

"Really!" C.C. beamed, earning himself a smack atop his head, "Ow! Whatcha do that for!"

"Just cause I said he'll live doesn't mean you shouldn't get him to the hospital!" she snapped.

"R-Right," C.C. sheepishly nodded.

"C.C.!" Lenalee's voice suddenly sounded from the Order's entrance.

"Really!" O.K. snapped as he watched all of the stationed exorcists rush towards them, "Now they choose to come out!"

"Oh hush it," Mugen laughed lightly as Marie took Kanda literally off her shoulders, "Just be thankful that they came at all."

"But we needed that earlier!" O.K. cried as Krory took a weakly laughing Lavi from his arms.

"Allen!" Lenalee cried as she flung herself at him.

"Ah!" C.C. gasped, catching the girl just before she landed on him.

"Allen-kun!" Miranda gasped, racing up to them with her innocence already activated.

"I can't tell you how much I love T.R.'s ability," C.C. sighed, smiling as his and Allen's pain slowly disappeared.

The Heart just stuck her tongue out at her brother. C.C. laughed as he picked up Allen, much to the protests of Lenalee. Walking closely to Miranda, the group made their way to the hospital wing. Including the Heart. The three other pieces occasionally shared nervous glances as they headed down many a hallway.

'So…' they all thought nervously, 'How are we going to explain her?'

* * *

_**Mizu: Wow…Did I just go through the entire chapter without using any breaks? *whistles* That's gotta be some kind of record for me.**_

_**C.C.: Oi! Why did you make all of that happen to Allen? Aren't you the least bit sad about it!**_

_**Mizu: *blinks innocently* No. Should I be~?**_

_**C.C.: Yes!**_

_**Lavi: *pats C.C.'s shoulder* Easy dude. That's just how she is. Just be happy that she's not killing him in this story…Like most of her last main focus story…**_

_**Mizu: *shrugs* Remember, I love all reviews and suggestions. Ciao for now~! *happily munches on a cookie***_


	11. Fixing Time

_**Mizu: I finally got around to updating this one! I really didn't mean to get so bad at updating my stories. I blame me not being used to managing my time correctly as part of the reason. The other part is all the brainblocks that I've been getting. Just when I want them, all of my plot bunnies disappear. Maybe if I wait long enough, they'll return. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, the status of Lavi would be known! I mean, come on! When was the last time we saw him! I want to know if he's alive or dead, though I highly doubt that he would be. This is Lavi we're talking about~!**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form:**_

_**Chapter 11 – Fixing Time**_

* * *

"How is he?" Lenalee asked as she, Lavi, and O.K. walked into the room.

Komui smiled, turning to face his sister while holding Allen's charts, "He'll be fine. He lost a lot of blood which was why his body went into shock but his life isn't in danger anymore."

"Thanks goodness," Lenalee sighed.

"He's very lucky," the Heart said from her seat next to Allen and C.C.

"We're all lucky," O.K. added, sitting down on the other side, "That idiot could have really messed up our chances in this war."

"What do you mean, O.K.?" Lavi asked, his eyes locked on Allen's unconscious body, "No offense, but Allen's just one person. Is he really that important to this war?"

Everyone was silent as Lavi walked up to Allen's side, gently brushing his white locks out of his eyes.

"Why does it have to be him?" Lavi whispered, "Why does Allen have to be the only one to go through all of this? Why is he the most important piece in this war?"

"Because he's my accommodator," C.C. whispered.

Lavi stared at the innocence for a moment, "Why then?"

"Lavi," O.K. tried to hush.

"Why did you choose Allen?" Lavi asked.

"…I didn't," C.C. whimpered, placing his head in between his hands, "…We chose each other."

"Lavi," the Heart spoke up, voice kind and gentle, "Please try to understand. We do not just choose our accommodators-"

"Heart-sama!" O.K. exclaimed, shock evident.

"No!" C.C. snapped, eyes wide.

"-we call out to them, choosing for ourselves the piece of innocence best suited for our bodies," Allen's voice sounded, weakly.

All eyes locked back onto Allen's face. With a slight grimace, the white-haired teen opened his silver eyes. A pained smile slowly appeared on his face.

"That's why, isn't it, C.C.?" Allen chuckled weakly, eyes locking with C.C.'s shocked ones, "It isn't something that happens at random."

"Allen," C.C. whimpered, relief rushing through him.

"The reason that you pick those that are already suffering isn't just some luck of the draw," Allen continued, eyes drifting up to the ceiling, "You don't pick those that are suffering because you want to. You seek out those that need you."

"What do you mean?" Komui questioned.

"We, as accommodators, seek out our innocence because we ourselves need it," Allen explained, "The more we need each other, the higher the synchro and our chances of fully linking with each other are. If the need for innocence is small, the person can join with it but can just as easily be separated."

"Suman," Lenalee gasped.

Allen nodded, "But those that greatly depend upon their innocence are the ones that become so strongly linked that they can never be without the other…"

The Heart smiled warmly at Allen before gently ruffling his hair, "Why my brother insists on calling you baka, I honestly have no idea."

Allen just smiled back at that, "It's just…It's just that I didn't believe that if innocence were the first people to be affected by the Earl's evil doings, why would they pick those that were already suffering to be their wielders. You guys don't seem like people that would want to hurt anyone. So I guess everything just sort of clicked in my mind."

"So we need our innocence just as much as they need us?" Lenalee asked.

"Correct," the Heart sighed, running a hand through her hair, "We don't like it but there isn't any other way for us to join with someone. If they don't need us, we can't join. It's a simple as that."

"I see," Komui nodded, thinking back to the experiments with creating exorcists.

"Actually, Hevlaska has known about all of this sine she came to be," C.C. stated, "But she wasn't to tell anyone until the Heart or I told her too."

"I suppose that makes sense," Lavi stated.

"And we weren't allowed to say anything about it either," O.K. sighed, "Only the Heart has the freedom to speak of it."

"Hence why I was speaking of it," the Heart sighed, "Honestly, you two are too worrisome."

"Why did you come here!" C.C. demanded, "I know for a fact that if you really wanted to that you could return anyone of us without actually being there to do so!"

"Stop reminding me of that!" O.K. cried.

The Heart shrugged, "I was close enough so I figured that I might as well come and check out how you and your wielder were doing."

C.C.'s eye twitched, "And if you knew that that bastard was going to try and hurt Allen, why didn't you get rid of him sooner!"

"Cause I wanted to see if you three could get him to change his way of thinking," the Heart said nonchalantly.

"You just love drama, don't you?" C.C. growled, eye still twitching.

"A tiny bit," the Heart smirked.

* * *

"Eat baka!" C.C. ordered as he and his accommodator sat in cafeteria with the others, "Do we really have to go through this every time?"

"Shut up!" Allen snapped, throwing his plate at his innocence.

C.C. smirked as he caught the plate of food, "Don't be so wasteful, baka."

"Stop trying to shove it down my thought and maybe I'd stop trying to throw it at your face!" Allen growled

As the two continued their now normal banter, the Heart just laughed, "These two are just too funny together."

"Yeah," O.K. chuckled, "But don't be surprised if you get hit by a random loaf of bread or so."

"It's starting to get dangerous sitting next to Moyashi-chan," Lavi added.

"Just a little," Lenalee giggled.

"Eat it!" C.C. barked, trying to shove a loaf of bread down his accommodator's throat, "Why aren't you getting used to all of this yet!"

"Hm?" the Heart sounded, "He still isn't used to not feeling hungry?"

"No," C.C. sighed while Allen bitterly ate the bread.

"That's not right unless…" the Heart thought aloud, "C.C., when exactly did you fully link with Allen?"

"Huh?" C.C. blinked, suddenly looking very guilty, "Oh…Um…er."

"Answer the question, brother," the Heart growled, scaring all those at the table.

"W-When he was like…twelve or thirteen…" C.C. whimpered while Allen tried to slowly scoot away from him.

"Before his body had entered puberty or just as he hit it?" the Heart asked, her voice sweet and dangerous sounding.

"J-Just as he hit it," C.C. stuttered, shrinking back a bit.

"I see," the Heart smiled a blood chilling smile.

Before anyone knew what happened, the Heart had slammed her brother's face into the table. Instantly, everyone at the table ducked down, praying not to become a casualty. Allen debated whether or not to come to his innocence's aid. Figuring that he must have done something really stupid, he decided to try and sneak away while he could.

"Don't you go anywhere, sweetheart~!" the Heart beamed, scaring Allen even more.

"Wh-what you do that for, sis?" C.C. groaned, rubbing his nose.

"I told you that if you could, you needed to fully link with him before puberty otherwise it would put too much stress on his developing body!" the Heart snapped, "If you couldn't then you were to wait until he was half way to nearly complete with it so that you wouldn't risk doing some sort of damage to him! But do you listen?"

"Wait…Why would it have mattered if I had had C.C. since I was born?" Allen asked.

"Because it's caused you to never fully enter puberty," the Heart sighed, "Didn't you even notice that you have yet to have your voice break or have any sort of major growth spurt?"

"Well yeah but I just thought that my family were all short," Allen shrugged.

"So wait, you're saying Allen's short cause of C.C.?" Lavi questioned.

The Heart nodded, "True, some of puberty's tell-tale signs probably have happened. In actuality though, he's height and voice have been in sort of a suspended time-line if you will. His body thinks that he's just thirteen right now."

"Why isn't any of that making a lot of sense?" Allen asked, rubbing his head.

"Basically, you're body has been using so much energy trying to support you and my brother, you haven't had any to spare to grow up," the Heart explained, "It's amazing that it hasn't affected your mind too."

"But it might be why he has such a huge hero complex," O.K. snickered.

"Probably," the Heart laughed slightly.

"So is there a way to start my body's timeline up again?" Allen asked.

"Of course~! Just come here!" the Heart beamed.

"Don't do it Allen!" C.C. suddenly shouted causing his wielder to freeze.

"What? Why not?" Allen asked.

"She wants to do some painful acupuncture thingy that will keep you stuck in bed for a least a month!" C.C. yelled.

"Oh hush up," the Heart huffed, "You know that he can't stay like that forever or else it really mess up his body."

Everyone watched as Allen seemed to debate between the two options. His face seemed to pale every now and then, most likely whenever he thought about a month stuck in bed. The Heart shook her head. Deciding to choose for the boy, she took a step forward. The second she did though, Allen turned on his heel and sprinted down the hallway.

"No way! I refuse to be put out of duty for such a long time!" Allen cried as he ran down the halls.

"Get back here!" the Heart fumed, stomping her feet, "You'll never be able to get big and tall if you don't!"

"Don't care!" Allen yelled.

"Good choice!" C.C. laughed as he raced to catch up with wielder.

"Curse you Aniki," the Heart pouted as she stomped after them.

"…Should I warn Yuu that we may not be able to get away with calling Allen Moyashi for much longer?" Lavi asked.

"Probably," Lenalee laughed.

"Though it would be funny to watch him try to confront a giant Allen," O.K. smirked.

* * *

"Keep running, baka!" C.C. laughed.

"What do you think I'm doing!" Allen snapped.

Innocence and wielder ran down the halls of the Black Order side by side. All of the finders stopped to stare while the scientists kept a look out for a crazed Komui. At first, nobody knew why Allen would be even running around after his severe injuries from a day ago. That is, until they saw the screaming woman chasing after them. After a few blinks or a shake of the head, they all put it down to the woman being one of the many that Allen encountered when he was Cross's pupil.

"I just want to help you!" the Heart yelled.

"I may want to be taller but I don't want to be put on bed rest!" Allen cried, blindly sprinting around a corner.

Before he could register it, the white-haired teen barreled into the Order's nervous duo. Both pieces of innocence stopped as Marie helped the three back to their feet. As soon as they were back up, Miranda started off in her normal hysterics. Sighing, Allen tried his best to calm her down while Krory fought his urge to join in.

"Why were you running down the halls anyways, Allen?" Marie asked.

"Oh yeah," Allen said, mind drifting off somewhere.

"Now then," the Heart smirked as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I promise I will try to make it as non-painful as possible."

"Shit!" Allen cursed, trying with all his might to break free of the Heart's impressive strength.

"Come now, you can't want to go around the rest of your life known as Moyashi, right?" the Heart asked.

"Well, no but I can't afford to be pushed to the sidelines!" Allen whined, trying his bright puppy eyes.

"Give it up kid," the Heart laughed, "I was the aunt of two boys that loved to try to get whatever they wanted from me before all of this. I know how to deal with puppy dog eyes."

"Um…E-Excuse me," Miranda stuttered.

"Yes?" the Heart smiled.

"M-My innocence has b-been acting weird since yesterday when I used it to take some time away from Allen's injuries while we got him to the infirmary," Miranda stated, holding out her innocence which was faintly glowing blue, "S-See?"

"I see," the Heart smirked, "I'll get right on it right after I finish with my brother's silly accommodator."

"Wait!" Allen yelped, feeling the woman's other hand rest on the small of his back, "Th-This can wait! Help Miranda first!"

"But I already decided to help you first," the Heart giggled.

"_**You've always had a strange way of showing that you want to help**_," a deep male's voice sounded from Miranda's innocence.

"Huh?" Miranda blinked.

Allen blinked before a wide smile overcame his face, "Miranda! Activate Time Record!"

"Wh-Why?" Miranda asked, suddenly very nervous.

"Just do it!" Allen accidentally snapped as more pressure was added onto his shoulder.

Miranda let out one of her pathetic cries before doing as she was told. As soon as she did, she was enveloped in a bright, warm sky blue light. Everyone there had to shield their eyes until it slowly faded away. Once it faded away, it revealed a man with long, wavy, dark brown hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and a confident smirk on his face. The man had warm chocolate eyes and a well-defined body. He was at least six-foot tall as well. And he was wearing an exact copy of the dress that Miranda was wearing at the moment.

There was silence for a good minute as they all stared at the man then…

"_**Hahahahahaha!**_" both C.C. and the Heart fell to the ground in laughter.

"H-Holy crap! I totally forgot that we appear in our wielder's apparel!" C.C. laughed loudly.

"I-I was going to h-have J-Johnny make him some clothes but f-forgot to ask for them!" the Heart added, laughing just as if not harder than her brother.

"Sh-Shut up!" the man snapped, face flushed, "I-I can't help what I appear in!"

"So your…" Marie started.

"You're T.R.~!" Allen beamed.

"Yes I am," T.R. smirked, bowing to Allen for some reason, "And it is indeed an honor to finally officially meet you."

"This is so amazing, right Miranda?" Krory beamed, patting the woman on the shoulder.

The woman just fell backwards as she fainted.

"Ah! Miranda! What's wrong? Are you alright!" Krory cried, shaking the poor woman by her shoulders.

"Krory! Stop it!" Marie exclaimed, trying to take the woman from him.

T.R. just laughed loudly, "I have to admit that Miranda's nervous tendencies are some of my greatest joys."

"That's a little mean, don't you think?" Marie asked.

"A little," T.R. shrugged, "But I owe this woman my life. If she hadn't found me when she had, my clock form was doomed to either collect dust or be destroyed. Granted, I wouldn't have been destroyed but I would have had to wait an even longer time before I found any sort of accommodator. So image my surprise when the woman who just happened to stop by the store not only was able to activate me but also had the possibility to be a true accommodator of mine?

"And you, Mister Allen Walker," T.R. smiled warmly, "I also owe my life to you. If you and Miss Lenalee hadn't come to that German town, Road Camelot would have found me and destroyed me. Then not only did you save Miranda and I, you gave her a purpose which allowed us to finally fully link. For that, I truly thank you."

T.R. by then had gotten down on one knee to bow to the white-haired teen. Feeling uncomfortable, Allen just laughed nervously. Behind the newly awoken innocence, Krory was fanning Miranda wildly in hopes to rouse her. Marie's slight chuckle could be heard occasionally as the whole scene played out.

"Now, allow me to repay some of my debt to you," T.R. beamed as he pointed his open palm at the teen.

Freezing, Allen's eyes widened, "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"You're body's timeline is a little out of whack," T.R. stated.

"H-How can you tell?" Allen stuttered.

"It's my specialty," T.R. laughed, "And I've always known. I've known about it ever since you helped Miranda fully activate me. While I was healing your injuries, there was something about your inner time that seemed off. Then when I healed you again, I noticed it. Your body actually thinks that it's thirteen."

"I told you so!" the Heart smirked.

T.R. sighed, "I know that you could have fixed it for him, but did you really have to scare the poor boy so badly?"

"It was all just an act," the Heart pouted.

"Huh?" Allen gaped.

"Yeah, we both knew that T.R. was going to be able to show his true form soon but we needed a way to lure him into doing it sooner," C.C. stated, "You see, T.R. is very conscious of Miranda and didn't want to appear cause he knew it would give her a heart attack."

"So you used me to trick him?" Allen growled.

"Pretty much," C.C. chuckled as Allen charged at him.

"I was so freaked out, you jerk!" Allen snapped, trying valiantly trying to land a punch, "Dammit! Hold still so I can hit you!"

"Like I'm going to do that, baka," C.C. laughed, dodging some quick kicks, "Though kicks might be a little harder to do."

"Well, at least he can still fight with one arm," T.R. stated as the Heart came up to him.

"Yeah, he's just not used to it," the Heart nodded before giving the piece of innocence a sad look, "I am sorry for everything, T.R."

"Don't worry about it," T.R. said, waving his hand slightly, "I may not like it, but I know why you did it."

"Still…I really am sorry," the Heart repeated, "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. It's just that if I hadn't done anything then-"

"Look, I said I understand. It was the only thing that you could do. We all thought that we were ready when we weren't," T.R. sighed, pointing his open palm at Allen once more.

"…thank you," the Heart said, bowing slightly to the other piece, "For everything before and this."

"No problem," T.R. smiled, "It's our job after all."

T.R. returned all of his attention back to the cursed teen. The boy was still trying actively to land a hit on his innocence. It was no longer out of irritation with him. It was more of a playful spar. All eyes were transfixed on the wide smile and happy glint that filled the young exorcist's silver eyes. T.R. felt compelled to smile along with him as C.C. caught him in a headlock.

"Do it," the Heart ordered, a sad note in her voice.

"Right," T.R. sighed, hand glowing a light green.

Suddenly, Allen found himself surrounded by circles that seemed to look like clocks. He looked down to see another clock that appeared to be placed on fast forward. He raised an eyebrow, looking up at T.R. then C.C.. Both seemed to have such sad looks on their faces. Not understanding, Allen tried taking a step toward his innocence. When he did though, the clock that was in front of his chest suddenly stopped with both hands on the twelve. It began to gong, filling the entire Order with its low, solemn ringing sound.

Everything was suddenly blurry to Allen. His eyes couldn't focus on anything. His mind had gone blank and he fought not to just fall forward. Looking around again, Allen tried desperately tried to figure out what was going on. Opening his mind up to C.C, he felt a wave of depression and worry flood his senses.

'Come here, Allen,' C.C. said through their link, 'You need to rest up now.'

Finding that even his vocal chords had joined the sudden rebellion, Allen settled for just shaking his head.

'Tell me what's going on,' Allen questioned, 'Tell me why you all look so sad. I want to know.'

'I'll tell you later,' C.C. said.

'No! Tell me now!' Allen snapped, this looking funny because his facial muscles didn't want to quite react right, 'I'm tired of all these secrets! I deserve to know is something's wrong especially if has anything to do with me!'

'I promise that when you wake up there will be no more secrets,' C.C. tried.

'Why do I not believe you then?' Allen asked.

'Cause you don't ever believe anyone, baka,' C.C. scoffed, 'Now come here.'

Allen stood there for a moment before staggering forward, 'You better not be lying…'

C.C. managed to catch the boy just as he fell forward. Holding him tight in his arms, C.C. let his own eyes drift over the other two pieces. They both held the same sad yet guilty faces. Sighing, C.C. picked the boy up and began the trek back to their room.

'I'm not lying, baka,' C.C. thought.

'…Good.' Allen said, startling C.C., "Cause if you are, I'm going to beat your ass.'

C.C. just laughed, "I'd like to see you try, baka."

* * *

_**Mizu: I could have gone on but then this chapter would have been at least twice the size and none of the previous chapters were like that so I decided to split it.**_

_**Allen: You're beating around the bush again…Would you just get to the point of them being sad already?**_

_**Mizu: All will be revealed soon, my dear Allen…hopefully.**_

_**Mugen: Just a question. Where did I disappear to? You keep forgetting about Kanda and I.**_

_**Mizu: I haven't forgot you. I'm just saving you two up for something. **_

_**Allen: Sure you are…**_

_**Mizu: Anyway, remember that I love all reviews and suggestions. I'm going pretty good on this one so maybe this story can be finished before its two year anniversary. I really didn't mean not to update this one so rarely so I really hope I can start to do better on that aspect. Ciao for now~!**_


	12. Raising a New Path

_**Mizu: In all honesty…This was actually part of the last chapter but when I first separated it out, it was like eighteen to twenty pages (my laptop is acting up again and giving me confusing numbers). So I did my best to find a good spot to split it. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, my first act of business would be to punch Lenalee as hard as I could. That should get her blood boiling again. She used to be so badass…**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter 12- Raising a new way**_

* * *

"_**What!**_" Allen suddenly shouted later that week from his usual spot in the cafeteria.

Everyone else in the room stopped and looked at the young man. It had become common knowledge by now that Allen was due for a growth spurt at any time. They had also been informed to expect his voice to break and many of the Order was hoping for that to happen so very much. After all, many in the Order had left their families behind. Hearing such a thing, even if it was just once, would have made the distance away from them more bearable. After all, who wouldn't be able to think that Allen with a breaking voice adorable?

So besides the people who had turned their focus to him for such an odd reason, everyone stared at the boy in curiosity. Allen, though he never failed to voice his opinion, rarely raised his voice above what could be heard at his table. This sudden exclamation had startled so many that they froze mid-bites. As Allen looked around, they watched as he apologized for the interruption with a light blush on his face. Soon after, the cafeteria was a buzz again but now the topic had shifted to Allen.

"Nice, baka~!" C.C. laughed as Allen glared at him.

"That was not my fault," he pouted.

"What the crud was that all about, Moyashi-chan?" Lavi laughed as he and his innocence sat across from him.

"Ask him," Allen growled out before returning to stuffing his face with his mountain of food.

"I see that you finally have your appetite back," O.K. pointed out as he tried to steal a plate from the stack.

"I was just telling him that T.R. and the Heart used to have a thing for each other," C.C. smirked as Lavi performed a perfect spit take that hit Allen dead on.

"Wh-What!" Lavi exclaimed while Allen fought his eye twitch and the urge to throw one of his deserts at his friend.

"Yeah, they were a lot like Mugen and I up until recently," C.C. stated, face growing a little more solemn.

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that," O.K. looked up from his thieving of several plates, "You guys all tried to go after the Earl in a major attack."

"What?" Lavi gaped.

"Right," C.C. nodded, "Neither O.K. or I were a part of that attack though so we don't know all the details."

"All we do know is that the Heart decided to gather up all the innocence that were either fully linked or had a high synchronization rate with their wielders and go after the Earl," O.K. added, "But something went wrong."

"Wrong? How wrong?" Allen asked.

"The Earl nearly destroyed them all," C.C. said.

"H-How did they escape?" Lavi stuttered.

"From what we were told, T.R. and his wielder created a barrier to protect them from the Earl's attacks for a bit," O.K. explained, "By then, many of their wielders were on their last legs. This was the same for T.R. on his wielder."

"The Heart knew this and knew that they couldn't hold out for much longer," C.C. sighed, "After all, even her wielder was starting to fade. So she had T.R. lower the barrier. Stepping out, she took many hits to protect them all as she prepared one final attack. At the same time as she was doing that, she began sending them all away from there one by one. Of course, T.R. didn't like this idea. When she was down to only him remaining, he tried to reach her to stop her. Not even turning around, she just waved her hand and sent him and his wielder to the town that you found Miranda in."

"W-Well…at least we know that she managed to get away from the Earl otherwise none of you guys would be here," Lavi stated nervously, "But just the fact that you guys lost a battle to the Earl…"

"Why did the Heart decide to go after the Earl then anyway?" Allen asked.

"Because her accommodator was the one that Hevlaska predicted would be the Path Changer," O.K. stated, "He was destined to change the way the war was going. And I guess he did in a way."

"What do you mean?" Allen asked noticing the way that C.C.'s face fell even more.

"This all happened thirty-five years ago," C.C. said, pausing to take a deep breath, "And about two months after their attack on the Earl, the Fourteenth Noah tried to take his life, killing many of the Noah in his attempt."

Allen's face paled as Lavi choked on his food.

"Whatever the Heart did as her final attack managed to weaken enough that if the Fourteen hadn't had such a hard time with the rest of his family, then he might have actually managed to kill the Earl," O.K. explained.

"N-No way…" Allen whimpered.

"Wh-What happened to her wielder, by the way?" Lavi asked, desperate to change the subject, "You said that he was dying before she sent everyone away."

"He died," C.C. sighed, running a hand through his hair, "But the Heart is special in the fact that anyone can become her wielder. True, she still has to wake for her true accommodator just like the rest of us, but the likely hood of her finding it due to the fact that she is not limited in who she chooses sky rockets so that she almost always has her true accommodator."

"All we know is that one day she has one wielder and the next, she's got this guy who has this long fiery red hair and a bad attitude-" O.K. started to say before earning an elbow to the stomach, "What! I was just filling in the blanks!"

"Hush up!" C.C. snapped, looking at Allen as his eyes widened.

"W-wait…fiery red hair? Does he gamble and womanize?" Allen asked, aura darkening slightly.

"Um…I couldn't tell you!" O.K. laughed nervously, realizing he had said too much.

"…It's master, isn't it?" Allen asked C.C., glaring the piece down.

"Y-Yeah," C.C. nodded, "When she found him, we don't know but we do know that he is one of her true accommodators…That and he is connected to the Fourteenth as well."

Allen sat in silence for a moment, thinking. The other three looked at each other, contemplating whether or not to change the subject.

"She's Grave of Maria, isn't she?" Allen asked, startling the two pieces.

"H-How'd you figure it out?" O.K. stuttered.

"Easy. Judgment was found after Master disappeared," Allen shrugged, "I figured that if she was in the Order then she would have appeared sooner when that Apocryphos attacked me."

"Oh yeah, about that guy," C.C. said, "I just remembered. That Apocryphos was actually Judgment. He had just joined up with Cross to stay close to the Heart-"

"But his main reason was to keep an eye on Allen as he grew up," the Heart said from behind the two, scaring everyone at the table with her sudden appearance, "So I see that you've already found me out then?"

Allen just nodded as he clutched at his chest, "I don't think my poor heart can keep up with all of you guys just appearing out of nowhere."

The Heart just giggled as she sat down next to the cursed teen, "Just call me Maria from now on. Being called the Heart every other sentence is getting really old."

"Are you okay with everyone knowing who you are?" Lavi asked, "You do know that Central won't let you go back out now that they know that you're here."

"I'd like to see them stop me," Maria laughed, "Besides, it's not like they know where Cross is so they have no idea how to track my movements."

"Wait M-Master's…M-master is still alive!" Allen gasped.

"Yep~!" Maria beamed, "That Apocryphos couldn't kill him no matter what he did anyway."

"Wait, Judgment also attacked Cross?" Lavi blinked, "Why?"

"Same reason he tried to kill Allen," Maria shrugged, "He just thought that the world would be better off without them I suppose."

"Master's alive…" Allen whimpered, as tears threatened to appear, "He's alive so why do I feel like crying! He's never done anything good for me! He's treated me worse than dirt on the best of days! He made me do things I wish I could undo! H-He…He made sure that I learned what I needed to learn. H-He took care of me after I lost Mana…H-He wasn't the best guy in the world but he took me in, no matter what the reason."

Maria slowly pulled the boy into her arms as he finished, "H-He is probably one of the most detestable guys around but still…but still he's my master."

"That's right," Maria smiled, rocking him back and forth, "Before I left to come here, he told me to tell you to just keep walking on whatever path you want. You'll make it somewhere eventually."

Allen just let out a bitter laugh before he finally broke down. The three pieces of innocence exchanged a look that conveyed their worry over the boy. O.K. and Maria looked over to C.C. in concern as well. He merely shook his head as he scooted over so he could gently pet his wielder's hair. They just nodded, leaving poor Lavi out of the loop as he watched in silence. After all the poor boy had been through, none of them had the heart to tell him the worst thing about his connection to Cross and the Fourteenth, especially C.C.. None of them wanted to tell the boy that if kept on the path he was on, he was bound straight for death.

* * *

"He's the Destroyer of Time, huh?" T.R. sighed later on that night once C.C. and O.K. had taken their wielders to the training rooms for some playful sparing.

"Unfortunately," Maria sighed, placing her head in her hands as she leaned over the table, "I still can't for the life of me figure out why it was him that was chosen…It isn't fair."

"Maybe it's just time for it all to end and he was just the unlucky one to be chosen to carry the burden," T.R. shrugged.

"It still isn't fair!" the Heart exclaimed, "That boy shouldn't have to be the one to carry all of this burden! A soldier, yes, but the center of it all? This isn't right! It can't be right…It just has to be someone else…"

T.R. was silent for a moment, "I don't remember you having any problem before when a major player entered the war. We've all had wielders who was those players, including C.C., so I know that's not why you're so bent out of shape. So why? Why can't you accept that it's him this generation?"

"Because it shouldn't be!" Maria snapped, "He's an innocent boy! Why'd he have to be the one chosen!"

"He's a product of the war and you know that," T.R. pointed out, "Everything that he has become has been directly affected by the war. He became an exorcist because he accidentally brought back his loved one only to have him be cursed. He's the host of the Fourteenth because of his lineage. He is an accommodator because he desperately needed C.C. to even survive long enough to be born into this war. You cannot say that he is not connected to the war and should be taken out of the equation because you know that is a damn lie!"  
"I know that but he's just a child, T.R.!" Maria cried.

"And so were many of our other accommodators!" T.R. shot back, "It makes no difference! He just happened to be the one to be chosen! Stop trying to get around that fact!"

"And you stop trying to act like you weren't upset when you found out Hevlaska's prophecy for him!" Maria shouted.

That stopped T.R. for a second.

"I know that you still remember when we all argued what the best course of action was for the Fourteenth Noah that resides within Allen," the Heart stated, "C.C. was bound and determined to convince everyone that he could take care of it. I haven't seen my brother so adamant since he tried convincing father to allow him to marry a peasant girl that lived a town away. He has never really spoke up for anything ever since we came back to fight the Earl. So seeing him do so just for one small kid surprised me.

"You remember when he argued actively with Judgment for days about it," Maria continued, "Slowly, everyone started to see his point. They all started to join his side about not just flat out killing Allen. Even you agreed, T.R. We all agreed that it would be a good idea, not just so that we could have an advantage against the Earl. We all agreed because we wanted to be able to tell us that we weren't just causing more pain and suffering for those we love. We wanted to believe that if we saved this child, we would be creating something good out of the royal mess that we were in.

"So, so what if I want to keep that idea alive!" the woman suddenly cried out, "Every single one of us fell in love with Allen that day, even though none of us knew him! All we knew of him was what C.C. told us. All we knew was the facts and pieces of information C.C. said trying to convince us. And that was enough. We were sold on the idea of raising a child that could bring us and the rest of the world joy. We wanted to try and heal some of the wounds that we had created in our attempts to rid the world of darkness.

"But just look what its cost him, T.R.!" Maria shouted, tears threatening to fall, "He's given us all hope and he makes everyone he meets smile, but what about him! His entire life has been a life of pain! We were all so consumed with making ourselves feel better that we forgot about protecting him! So, so what if I want to correct that! So what if I want to try and make it up to him! It's our own fault that we can't defeat the Earl anyway! We just haven't figured out the right way to do so! He doesn't have to die just for the war to end! He doesn't have to die for us!"

T.R. just stared in shock at his love as she fought not to cry. He honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been so livid about something. Seeing her tears in the corner of her eyes was a sobering factor as well. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. He indeed understood where she was coming from. The scene from their meeting at that time had been burnt into his memory for quite some time.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

After finding out about the situation with Allen, Maria had acted quickly and opened a link between all the pieces of innocence. None of them quite knew why she had called them all, but they knew that it must have been important because she had seemed nervous about it. As they waited for all the links to be opened, several of the pieces were actively talking through the link. Nearly all the pieces were in attendance when C.C.'s link opened. Everyone instantly fell silent as his appeared in the center of them all.

'What the?' T.R. thought in surprise, 'Nobody ever appears in the center unless they are on trial for treason against the heart.'

T.R. looked around at the images of all the other pieces, noticing the different faces for the familiar pieces of innocence, 'But if that was the case, not everyone would be here. The Heart would have only chosen a handful of us to serve as a jury.'

T.R. looked back at C.C.'s image, 'Then again...He is the second piece and her older brother. Maybe she wants to make sure that everyone agrees on the verdict…Still I can't believe that White would do something so awful that she would think about sending him back…'

"What do you suppose that idiot White's doing here, Rewind?" one of the pieces smirked from beside him, "Maybe he finally did something so stupid not even his sister can ignore it."

"I highly doubt that, Ripper," T.R. sighed.

"It's Judgment now," the piece chuckled, "I partnered up with the same guy that the Heart is with now."

"Why are you beside me anyway?" T.R. asked, "Shouldn't you be by Rose's side?"

"Not today," Judgment shook his head, "Oh, and she's going by the name Maria now."

"Maria?" T.R. blinked.

"Yeah, the guy gave her the name, "Grave of Maria." I don't know about that guy, he's really messed up, you know?" Judgment stated.

"He must be if he has two basically independent pieces of innocence as his weapons," T.R. sighed as the Heart appeared.

"I have called you all here to help me decide the fate of my brother's newest accommodator," the Heart announced, "I want you to listen to everything carefully before asking any sort of question. This trial is of vital importance."

'A trial of a human?' T.R. thought in mild surprise, 'So we're going to decide whether or not he should become a fallen? But shouldn't White be able to decide this on his own without a trial let alone a trial of such magnitude?'

T.R. looked at C.C. carefully. He could see that he had indeed found a new accommodator as of recent times. He had shoulder length brunette hair, light skin, and silver eyes. It was quite stunning to see the change in appearance as always with C.C.. However, his image wasn't nearly as fuzzy as some suggesting that he had found a true accommodator. That in itself was strange seeing as the Heart had told her brother not to go after any as a sort of break since the incident with the last one.

'None of us still know why that guy went berserk like he did,' T.R. thought, shaking his head, 'But White was sure shaken up by it.'

"As of right now, I have not been renamed by my accommodator yet so I will continue to go by my last given name of White," C.C. started off, "I am here today to defend my accommodator as you decide his fate."

A whirlwind of whispers swept through the link. Even T.R. was shocked. Defend his wielder? This was unheard of. None of the pieces had ever tried to defend their accommodator once they had been thought of going against them. It was unheard of but then again, C.C. was known for not really following the norm.

"I guess it is a trial for a fallen," Judgment sighed, "It sure is getting harder and harder to find good people I guess."

"I suppose," T.R. nodded halfheartedly.

"I have been with my wielder for a total of five years now and I have to say that he is probably the most kind, caring, understanding, and innocent person out there," C.C. continued, ignoring all the whispers.

'Innocent? That's a new way to describe our wielders,' T.R. thought, 'None of them are truly innocent. They've all seen so many horrors in this war, especially since the Order was rebuilt about ninety years ago.'

C.C. took a deep breath before continuing on, "I have actually been with my accommodator since before he was born."

There was silence before they all erupted in a unanimous, "_**What!**_"

"Are you kidding me!" Judgment roared from his place, "There is no possible way to do so!"

"I was acquired by the boy's mother before he was born. For the longest time, I had the sensation of being near my true accommodator whenever I was near her. I knew it was her but couldn't figure out where the feeling was coming from. It wasn't until one day when his mother made the off handed comment that he must have really liked the ring, the form I was in at the time, that she wore cause that was the only time that he was active," C.C. explained.

"Unfortunately, soon after discovering this, I found that he was in distress within his mother's womb," C.C. continued, "His heart wasn't developing fast enough to keep up with his body and he did not even have a left arm. I contacted the Heart and she agreed that it would be for the best if I joined up with him. Through some cooperative efforts, I was finally able to reach him and save his life."

'What would that have been like?' T.R. thought for a moment, 'Seeing what the inside of a womb looks like as well as actually experiencing being born…Forget I asked…I don't really want to think about it.'

"So wait, you're saying that he's only about four or five years old right now?" a random piece questioned.

"Yes," C.C. nodded.

"There's no way that a four year would be able to do anything so bad as to warrant this kind of trial!" T.R. exclaimed, "What is all of this really about, White?"

"…He's the host of the Fourteenth Noah," C.C. said solemnly.

Everyone gasped in response.

"Then why are we even holding this trial!" Judgment shouted, "You should know that we have to kill him before he can awaken!"

"I won't do it!" C.C. snapped, "If he was really a Noah in hiding, why would he be my true accommodator? Why would I be able to join with him! There has to be something there beside the Noah!"

"Impossible!" Judgment spat, "The only reason that you and the Noah haven't started clashing is because he hasn't awoken yet! This is our time to strike, before he can grow up and get stronger!"

"He isn't an enemy!" C.C. shouted, "He's just a little boy!"

"He's one of those scumbags!" Judgment retorted.

The argument carried on for the next thirty-six hours. In that time, they all learned everything there was to know about C.C.'s accommodator. They found out that his father threw him out due to the form C.C. had to take when he was only one. They heard of how the boy was basically raised by one kind nun until the head nun spotted his arm. Then he had been kicked out of the orphanage he had only been at for one year. All listened as C.C. told of the horrors his wielder had lived through during his life of living off the streets.

They also heard how the boy was still so caring of the world. While he tried to act indifferent to adults, he would go out of his way to make someone smile. If he saw an injured animal, he would carry it to a vet. He gave up his food to the starving and gave whatever money he could find to the poor beggars. This little boy that had nothing himself was giving everything he could to those he didn't even know. He had been treated so badly by the world but yet his heart was still so big.

C.C. told them of how the boy would go to bed every night, praying for a nice family to find him and take care of him. He would go around with a wide smile even if he was in pain. The only thing that the boy wanted was to make everyone happy and someone to be able to come home to. It didn't matter to him if they were rich or poor. They were all people so he would try his best every day to place a smile on the face of everyone he met. And every single one of them treated him like dirt due to his arm. But he still kept on with his big happy smile. He just wanted someone to smile back at him.

"Please!" C.C. begged, light red tears filling his eyes, "Don't give up on this boy just yet! Give him a chance to prove himself! Give him a chance to show that he's not just one of those bastards! Let him show you that he deserves to live!"

"Like I've been trying to tell you, he's one of them!" Judgment snapped, growing tired of the constant fighting before T.R. held up his hand, "What, Rewind?"

"I just want to ask White something," T.R. stated, looking straight at the desperate piece, "Why are you so determined to save this boy? I get what you're saying about him being a good person right now but the Heart could have told us all this. She could have just asked us what we thought we should have done about this. So why are you so adamant about defending him when you know that there is a chance that this will still voice the obvious answer? Why fight so hard for this one boy?"

"Because I'm all he has!" C.C. cried out, stunning all those in the link, "If I don't protect him, who will! Answer me that, Rewind! I can't protect him in everyday life because I can't fully link with him yet! So this is the least I can do! I can't just sit by and let others determine whether or not he deserves to live when they don't even know him! I just can't do it! I can't let you just decide for yourselves when you don't know him! I can't let you kill my son!"

A shockwave ran through all the pieces in attendance. It was common knowledge that C.C. had never felt a parental connection to his true accommodators like the rest of them. So to hear him yell out son for all those to hear instantly made them all think. If C.C. was so sure that this kid was worth saving, maybe they should trust him.

"I'm ready to voice my decision," Mugen said, stepping forward a bit, "Is that alright, Heart-sama?"

"Go ahead Thorn," Maria nodded.

"Thank you," Mugen said, smiling a bit at C.C. as he stared in shock at her, "I believe that we should put our trust into White and his accommodator. There is no reason to believe that the Noah will awaken soon and perhaps White might be able to contract a deal of some sort with it."

"I agree with Thorn," O.K. agreed.

"Thank you Carpenter," Mugen laughed.

The entire link was abuzz with whispers about what to do. After several minutes of sitting around debating with himself, T.R. looked up with his determination shining in his eyes.

"I would like to throw my hand in with White and his wielder," T.R. announced, "I would like to believe in this child."

"Rewind," Maria whispered, eyes wide.

"What are you talking about?" Judgment snapped, "You guys are talking about pardoning one of our enemies with nothing more than a pat on the back and saying not to do bad things!"

"I want to believe in the kid an White, Judgment," T.R. said, "I want to see if we can actually raise a child in this time that reflects our wants. I want to see if this kid can survive the odds and grow up to be a good guy."

"Same!" another piece spoke up, followed by an uproar of almost every piece agreeing with the others.

"You're all crazy! This is going to cost us the war!" Judgment shouted.

"Judgment," the Heart sighed, "What is your verdict?"

"Death to the bastard," Judgment growled, "And the immediate return of White."

With that, Judgment disconnected his part of the link. Sighing, T.R. looked over to the man in question. Tears of light red slowly dripped from his eyes as he smiled so gratefully to all those there. Smiling, T.R. checked the time as he prepared to disconnect his link. Looking over to Maria one last time, he caught her smiling so happily at him just as he finally broke off his connection.

'May this gamble play off,' T.R. thought as he faded out.

_*flashback end*_

* * *

T.R. sighed before smiling at the woman. That trial had played a major part in almost every piece's life. Once the news that C.C. had managed to break a deal with the bastard, they had all let out a collective sigh of relief. None could remember a time when they were so relieved by something so strange. Of course, some like Judgment still actively opposed the whole thing but most relished in the idea of keeping Allen alive.

'I guess betting on such a big gambler like Allen really has paid off,' T.R. thought with a small chuckle.

"You're right on it not being fair, that's for sure," T.R. sighed as he wrapped his arms around his love, "None of us ever asked for Allen to become the Destroyer of Time. None of us wanted any of this to happen."

"T.R.," Maria whimpered.

"There isn't anything we can do about it though," T.R. stated, "This is the path that your last accommodator left us. He led us to Allen who might lead us to the path of victory. To do so, he died once he had served his purpose just like all of our other major players. And so must Allen. You don't like it. I don't like it. And I know that C.C. sure as hell doesn't like it. But we can't fight it. All we can do is to try to atone for some of the wrongs that we have done against him."

"…Why are you suddenly the level headed one?" Maria sniffled.

"Because you can't be a badass all of the time," T.R. joked, "Come on. We better head to bed before someone suspects us of doing things we aren't doing.

"Maybe I want them to think that we're doing those things," Maria giggled.

"I wouldn't mind it either but I don't think that Miranda would appreciate it," T.R. stated, "I'm just happy that she's still out cold right now."

"You've got your work cut out for you with that one," Maria said, shaking her head as they walked out of the room.

Lavi ducked into an empty room as T.R. and Maria walked down the hallway towards him. Waiting for them to pass, he sighed before sliding down the door. When he came to confront them about while they looked so strange at dinner, he had never expected to hear such a shocking and terrifying thing. He never expected to hear that Allen was destined to die. While he thought over the things he had heard, the door he was leaning against was suddenly opened, sending him falling back into the hall. Looking up, he saw Mugen with a strange mischievous look on her face.

"You should know that eavesdropping is very rude," Mugen smirked as she helped the boy up.

"And you should know that seeing a face so similar to Yuu's with such a strange face is terrifying," Lavi joked, "I haven't seen you or Yuu around that much lately. Where have you two disappeared to anyway?"

"Training," Mugen sighed, "The idiot's got it in his head that since he couldn't defeat the Apocryphos guy that he's weak. So he's been training nearly non-stop lately. I finally got him to agree to go to bed after training since two hours before sun-set."

"Typical Yuu," Lavi chuckled shaking his head before turning serious, "Is it true?"

"Hm?" Mugen blinked.

"Is it true that Allen's going to have to die just so that we can win this war?" Lavi asked, eye pleading to know the truth.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the only visible choice right now," Mugen sighed.

"Dammit," Lavi cursed, glaring at nothing.

"Though, there might be an unseen choice somewhere up ahead of us," Mugen said, smiling as she watched the bookman apprentice's eye widened.

"What are you talking about?" Lavi questioned.

"Nobody knows what the future holds silly," Mugen smirked, walking off to retrieve the tea that she had come for, "Not even the Heart knows what's going to happen when dealing with Allen. They're just going off all past prophecies."

"What do you mean?" Lavi asked as the innocence slowly made her way to the cafeteria.

"Nothing about Allen has followed any sort of previous knowledge," Mugen said, turning a bit to look back at him, "So why should that be any different in the future? When it comes to Allen, we've always have only been pleasantly surprised with the outcomes."

Lavi just stood in the hallway, frozen for a few seconds until he heard Mugen say, "Just have faith in our Moyashi. He'll pull through in the end, just like he always does. Just keep betting on him and your gamble will pay off."

The redhead just smiled as he laughed a little. Turning on his heel, he quickly returned to his room in hopes of not arousing the suspicions neither Bookman or O.K.

* * *

_**Mizu: Yay~! The explanations are coming out slowly but surely! *dodges a flying book***_

_**Allen: Dammit Mizu! You're trying to have me killed again, aren't you!**_

_**Mizu: Um…maybe? *runs away***_

_**Allen: What do you mean maybe! Get back here, you rotten author of trash! *gives chase***_

_**Lavi: Eh…Well, I guess since Mizu's busy, I better remind you guys that she loves all reviews and suggestions. She'll do her best on getting a new chapter out soon but she's not making an promises *sounds of glass breaking* What the crud are they doing out there…**_

_**Mizu: *running back through* C-Ciao for now! *dodges a knife* Yikes!**_


	13. Problematic Sight

_**Mizu: I lives~! Okay, before you say anything, I just want to get one thing out of the way. I love all of you readers, I really do, but you guys need to understand something. I'm a FANFICTION writer, not a professional writer. I'm not going to update nor am I going to jump on it and post just anything just because you keep reviewing and begging for an update. I work my butt off trying to give you guys my absolute best just like I do with all of my stories. Go count how many stories I have in progress on my profile and see how stretched thin my imagination is. I've been stuck in such a rut recently that I haven't been able to focus on one long enough to even get out a paragraph. That's how bad it's been so I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in forever. And just so you know, as soon as I have a chapter done to the point that I like it, I post it as soon as I can so you can read it. **_

_**Now that my mini rant is done, here's some good news~! This story now has a beta~! I'm hoping that this will help cut back on my grammatical and spelling faults as well as any slips of the typing hand. The beta is DarkKittehKat and she rocks~!**_

_**Disclaimer time: I don't own -Man or any of the characters. If I did, I think that I wouldn't be worrying about how I'm going to get through college.**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter 13- Problematic Sight**_

* * *

_Two months later…_

"Come on, Lavi!" Allen laughed as he took up his stance once more, "Get back up!"

"You're telling me that you can't beat a one-armed teen?" C.C. laughed from the corner. "You need to train your accommodator better, O.K.!"

"Shut up!" O.K. snapped, helping his wielder up, "It's not like he's ever needed to fight hand to hand with someone before."

"True, but neither does Kanda with Mugen," C.C. pointed out, snickering, "And yet he could easily beat the crap out of baka right now."

"Hey!" Allen fumed, "There is no way that BaKanda could ever beat me!"

"Just keep telling yourself that," C.C. snickered.

"What was that!" Allen snapped, charging at his innocence.

C.C. just smirked as he effortlessly dodged his accommodator. Lavi and O.K. blinked as they watched the cursed teen really try to hit his innocence. Or, at least, so it seemed at the beginning. Soon, the two noticed the bright smile on their friend's face as if he was just playing a game with his weapon. Lavi just grinned as he watched his fellow exorcist. He was playing with C.C., something the kid probably had never been able to do – it was a strange game to play, but it was still probably Allen's first time playing with _**anyone**_. That thought in itself made the redhead's heart ache a little. The thought of him never being able to play with someone else seemed so unfair.

'The world sure is cruel to him, isn't it?' Lavi asked through his link with O.K.

'Unfortunately, yes,' O.K. sighed, 'and it will probably get crueler.'

'Is that why all of you are trying so hard to make this moment in time enjoyable for Allen?' Lavi questioned.

O.K. flinched, '…Yes.'

"Lavi!" Allen suddenly exclaimed, charging toward him.

"Ah!" Lavi shrieked as he narrowly dodged a flying boot to the head, "What? What's going on?"

"I was just checking to make sure you hadn't let your guard down," Allen smirked, getting back into his stance.

"Wait, I thought we were through sparring for today!" Lavi whined as he heard the door open.

"What are you doing, baka usagi?" Kanda's scoff was heard from the front of the room.

Both teens looked toward the source. There stood Kanda and his innocence, Mugen, just now returning from his lengthy mission. While neither boy would openly admit it, they were very happy to see their samurai companion. It was strange. The three of them had formed a strange almost sibling like relationship without any of them really noticing. It wasn't something that they normally would have noticed but with the added stress from all of them being revealed that they were true accommodators, they unconsciously looked to each other for support. It was normally just Allen and Lavi but they enjoyed having Kanda's opinion to things…even if it wasn't the one that they wanted to hear.

"Can you really not beat such a Moyashi?" Kanda scoffed.

"Oi!" Allen growled.

"I'd like to see you go hand to hand with him, Yuu," Lavi teased, "I bet you couldn't beat him either."

"Tch," Kanda sounded, starting to walk over when Mugen placed a hand on his shoulder, "What?"

"There will be plenty of time for sparring later. You need to get some rest," Mugen said, smiling warmly at her wielder.

"You guys just get back from a mission?" C.C. asked.

"Unfortunately," Mugen said, a slight laugh to her voice, "It wasn't too bad but the akuma aren't too friendly when they think an exorcist is without innocence."

"I would not expect them to be," C.C. chuckled, saddened eyes locking onto his wielder, "Though I don't think it will be as simple for baka and I."

"Why do you think that?" Allen asked.

"Because every single akuma out there will be on the look out for you," C.C. said, eyes serious, "And when they see you without a left arm, they are going to report to the Earl and the Earl is immediately going to come out to come after you."

Allen's face paled slightly, "Then why don't I just go out with you back as my arm?"

"Because as of right now, our synchro-rate is lower than what you are used to when using my weapon form," C.C. explained, "I lowered it to minimize the stress on your body."

"Of course, you are still at a hundred percent," O.K. smirked, "But your body is so used to having the arm with such a high percentage that if he were to become your arm, just the arm, it could cause your inner timeline to mess up again."

"Correct," T.R. called as he and Miranda walked in, "And I would very much like it if you didn't try to get it tangled it back up."

"Hey, T.R.," Mugen smiled, "Good to see ya."

"Same for you Mugen," T.R. said, "Glad to hear that the first mission with a fully linked duo went well."

"What are you talking about? You and Miranda were on a mission too," Mugen laughed.

"True but we were body guards for the finders," T.R. chuckled.

"Really? You're doing so well with your innocence, Miranda~!" Allen beamed, gently slapping the woman on the back.

"Th-Thank you," Miranda blushed, "H-Hey Allen?"

"Yeah?" Allen asked.

"…B-Be extra careful when they next send you on a mission," Miranda stated, eyes downcast.

"Of course~!" Allen beamed.

"Don't worry, little lady," C.C. smirked, catching his accommodator in a headlock, "So long as I'm around, I won't this little idiot go all martyr on us~!"

"Hey! Let me go!" Allen whined, a bright smile on his face.

"C.C.," T.R. sighed.

"Yeah?" C.C. laughed.

"…Maria wants to talk to you about…well, you know," T.R. said, somewhat solemnly, "…Alone."

"Right," C.C. nodded, before ruffling his wielder's hair, "I've got to go talk some things over with my sister for a bit, so try not to get yourself killed this time."

"What do you guys need to talk about?" Allen asked as he tried to fix his snow white hair.

"Just some stuff about keeping you alive, even though you seem bound and determine to be a martyr," C.C. chuckled before sitting against the wall.

"I am not-… eh…What're you doing, C.C.?" Allen questioned.

"He's opening the shared link between all innocence," T.R. explained.

"Shared link?" Allen blinked.

Mugen nodded, a warm smile on her face, "Whenever we need to inform others about something, we just open our minds and search of that piece's… how to put it… mind's door. Then all we have to is knock and wait for them to answer."

"It's how we've been able to stay in touch every though we're scattered all throughout the world," O.K. added, "And how we tell each other funny stories about what our wielders did."

Mugen stifled a laughed, "I remember when C.C. decided to tell us all about your first mission with Lenalee."

"My first mission with Lenalee?" Allen repeated, tilting his head to the side, "What about it?"

"Just how you decided to become Clock-Man to get a good laugh out of Lenalee and Miranda," O.K. snickered as T.R. blushed a little.

"I remember that now…" T.R. grumbled, "That was so humiliating…"

"Clock-Man?" Lavi chuckled.

Allen tried to hold back his slight laughter, "S-sorry, T.R. I couldn't resist back then."

"Then there was that time with Lavi and Kanda when C.C. found out that for all of your hard earned balance, you couldn't ski to save your life," Mugen giggled.

Allen flushed in response before grumbling something about getting his revenge.

"Oh, and of course was the time that you worried Lenalee to the point she started tearing up and the rest of your group got upset at you," Mugen added, "Then when you gave Lavi a boot to the head for saying something to Lenalee and making her upset again. And then when you found yourself a nice emo corner when that kid John pointed out that you were like a Moyashi~!"

"I-I get it! The bastard likes to use me for entertainment!" Allen fumed, glaring over at his innocence.

The gathered group just laughed at the boy's embarrassment as Reever cautiously entered the training room.

"Hey, guys?" Reever announced, "Allen and Lavi are wanted in Komui's office for a mission."

At the word "mission", Allen instantly perked up. Rushing over to where his innocence sat, he grabbed him by his shirt collar and raced off to the insane man's office. Everyone else just gaped at the dust cloud that was left in his place.

"…I take it he's tired of being stuck in the tower, right?" Mugen sweatdropped.

"It would seem so," T.R. replied amusedly, blinking at the sight.

* * *

"Allen Walker reporting in~!" Allen beamed as he managed to stop his momentum just before he collided with Komui's desk.

The Chinese scientist jumped at the sudden appearance of the white-haired exorcist. Taking a moment to calm his heart, he noted Allen's new look. He had recently outgrown all of his old clothes so while Johnny was busy making him some new ones, he was borrowing a couple of Kanda's and the Asian branch's training outfits. It had shocked everyone that the boy had grown so much in two short months. Kanda hadn't been too pleased that the kid had to wear some of his clothes, but thanks to Mugen, no blood was shed when a few finders were sent to retrieve the garments.

Komui chuckled when he noticed the dizzy C.C. that was now trying to recollect his thoughts from Allen dragging him. It wasn't often that one got to see a piece of innocence about to lose his lunch.

"I see that you are," Komui chuckled as Lavi, O.K. and Chaoji all appeared in the doorway, "And I also see that everybody has arrived."

Allen blinked as the two redheads and scowling teen made their way into the office. Instantly, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he noticed the glare intensify and settle upon him. He really did feel guilty for what had happened to Chaoji. If he had maybe been there to help, maybe he could have made a difference when the akuma attacked the ship for a second time. The man was only four years older than him and had been an orphan as well due to the akuma that killed his family. He understood the pain that he must have felt when he watched his new family die before him.

He also knew that that wasn't the real reason behind Chaoji's hatred fueled glare. It was due to his too kind ways. If he had just forgotten about Tyki then they could have escaped and then maybe none of what was going on would have ever happened. But he knew that would have actually turned out worse for the Order in the long run. Maybe it would have helped keep himself safe, but the Earl would have gained the new ark and the Order would have lost two exorcists. No matter how bad he felt when around Chaoji, he would never wish to change what he had done. How could he when the results of such a change would damn them all more than just him?

C.C. sat silent as he stared at Chaoji. Allen rarely left his mind fully open to him, now being one of the few times it was. He could understand where his wielder was coming from but the fact that the brunette man beside them was causing him to start thinking like a martyr again right after spending the past two months fighting to stop them just ticked C.C. off to no end. His wielder did not deserve what the teen thought of him.

He was no traitor. If anything, Allen was one of the most loyal members the Order had. He fought to save all those he could, and how could anyone fault the boy for not wishing to kill any more than he had to? The kid knew that Tyki must have had a life outside of what he did for the Noah, so was it really fair to completely steal that away from him? Granted, the Noah's influence was greater than what Allen could stop, what with barely having broken past critical point. It was this that resulted in Tyki losing his "white" half and it was yet another thing that Allen felt overwhelming guilt for. He killed the wrong half and stole Tyki away from his friends who he had once met. It nearly ruined the boy's heart for a while as the thought of doing so had torn him apart.

C.C. sighed to himself. He loved his wielder like a son and that was why he hated seeing him in so much distress. He desperately there was some way that he could allow Allen to stay his innocent self and promise him that they would not ever have to kill another.

It took all he had not to glare at the boy whose hair resembled a pineapple. How dare this guy think badly of Allen when it was clear that the kid was still so innocent in his heart? After everything that the cursed teen had gone through, it was a miracle that he was still so kind. Why couldn't this guy see that? He wasn't supposed to want to kill everyone who stands against him. He was barely sixteen! How could he think that someone that young would be willing just to let the people around him, good or bad, just die? How could this Chaoji guy think his wielder a traitor when the point of the matter was staring straight at him?

How could he think so badly of his wielder that was still just a child?

Komui sighed as he handed out the mission briefing folders, "We have reason to believe that there is a piece of innocence located not too far from here in a town that resides on the other side of a rather impressive mountain. While the piece has not been attacking up as much as some do, it has casted a barrier around the town that is able to keep all akuma from entering."

Komui noted how the two pieces of innocence flinched a little as they read their folders before glancing nervously at Allen, "Seeing as Allen has never been to this town, you will be heading out on foot to your destination. A group of finders are there awaiting you."

'He has been there,' O.K. nervously thought, not even caring that his link to Lavi was open.

C.C. had quickly closed off his link when he read the town's name, 'Th-This is the town that Allen was born in…'

'Dammit Bull! You just had to act up now, didn't you!' both pieces roared inside their minds.

* * *

Chaoji grumbled as he, Lavi, O.K., C.C., and Allen trudged down the mountain path. Why was the white-haired freak leading the way? Better yet, why was the Order allowing him outside? Wasn't he supposed to be under trial for heresy by now? What was the point of having the Crow follow the guy around for so long? This guy who was a traitor to the Order was freely walking around just because he just happened to be a "true accommodator." That didn't change anything in Chaoji's book.

'Stupid Noah bastard,' Chaoji thought as his innocence seemed to pulse in agreement.

C.C. and O.K. noticed the sudden pulsation of power coming from the other piece and frowned. So there _were _still those that didn't approve of how C.C. was handling the Noah within Allen. Go figure that it had to be joined up with the prick that was too close minded to see anything that he didn't want to.

"You sure this is the place, C.C.?" Allen asked as he and his innocence stood atop a cliff, staring down at the town below them.

C.C. sighed, "Yep, this is the place."

Allen stood silent for a few more moments before sighing just like his innocence. "Well, let's get this done and over with before any of the Earl's goons come searching for us."

"Sounds good," C.C. nodded before the two slowly made their way to the town.

Allen looked over at the piece of innocence as they trudged through the knee high snow towards the village. Had it really been two months since this had all begun? Since C.C. changed to his truest form and started this crazy timeline of confusion and joy? Allen looked up to the sky. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was being thought of as a traitor of the Order? How could time move so quickly and yet so slow?

So much had happened in the past two months. C.C. and the others awoke in them their truest forms. Central pulled back enough that it was only Link who stayed at the Order, only needing Allen to check in and out whenever he went out on a mission. Kanda had slowly become more social, though that was probably due to Mugen dragging him everywhere by his pony tail. Lavi and Bookman had a falling out, but strangely enough, Lavi seemed happier. All the exorcists were striving to get stronger and link with their innocence. Not that they would. C.C. and the Heart already confirmed that there were no more true accommodators currently at the Order.

Speaking of the Heart, Allen couldn't help but wonder how Maria was doing. She had left some time ago, returning to Cross, no one knowing where they were. Allen chuckled as he remember screaming at Komui that he was _**NOT**_ going to go out and search for his master again. C.C. agreed that they would not be going, scaring the crud out of the Chinese scientist. That was a sight to see. Sighing, a slight smile graced the cursed teen's lips. Everything and everyone had changed so much in the past two months. The Order definitely wasn't the same Order Allen entered when he first joined.

He himself had changed as well. No longer was he one of the shortest exorcists. No siree~! Thanks to T.R. fixing his inner timeline, his body was finally growing like it should have been. He had already grown a full two and a fourth inches, shocking everyone, excluding T.R., with how much he grew in such a short time. Every time that he passed by Kanda in the hall, a dark smirk would appear on his face before he would snicker about how the day where he was taller than everyone was approaching. Kanda would just grunt in response and Mugen would stifle a laugh as the two parted ways.

It would always be after that that C.C. would laugh at him and inform him that he would only grow to the same size as the form that C.C. took. Apparently, if fully linked before the wielder is fully grown, the innocence takes the form of the tallest that the wielder _**could**_ become. There was no guarantee that they'll reach the same height, and there was no way that they could grow past said height. At this, Allen would shrug before stating that it didn't matter because he would still be taller than Kanda then. C.C. would always shake his head and mutter something about last minute growth spurts.

Allen also refused to acknowledge that Kanda and Lavi were also still growing, albeit slower, and that they could still end up taller than him.

"Are you sure about this, baka?" C.C. questioned.

"Of course I'm sure," Allen sighed, pulling up his hood as they neared the town.

"I'm just asking," C.C. sighed, "…I don't think I've ever seen you so conflicted on taking on a mission."

"What about when we first went after Master Cross?" Allen chuckled slightly.

"No, you flat out didn't want to do it," C.C. smirked, "If I remember correctly, both Lenalee and Komui had to hold you back when you found out."

Allen resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the teasing innocence, "You remember what he was like, don't you? Why would I want to find the bastard then?"

"Bet you wouldn't mind finding him now, though," C.C. stated.

Allen nearly stopped walking, "…He just left us. He left me with all the blame and accusations of me being a traitor. He left without answering any of the questions that knowing what I was brought on… He faked his death for what? Just to mess with me some more?"

C.C. smiled as he watched his young wielder go off on a slight rant about his master, the boy's own smile never leaving his face. No matter what anyone said, including Allen, the boy was extremely happy that the redheaded drunkard was alive. Just knowing that the man who had raised him after the loss of Mana was alive pulled so much pressure off the boy's shoulders. C.C. regretted not being able to take the rest off. All the innocence wanted nothing more than that. If they could, they would remove Allen from the war all together and allow him to live his life however he wanted. But they knew that that feeble dream never would come to be.

He felt another power spike from the innocence around Chaoji's wrists. It took everything in him not to growl out loud. It took even more not to go and knock down the door between that piece's mind and his to chew him out. O.K. placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Now was not the time to address the problematic pair. They had more important things to focus on. Things like keeping Allen away from his mother and sisters at all costs. Normally, they wouldn't worry about him running into people from his past, but when there was a chance that someone might recognize him running high, they didn't want to risk it. After all, how many people did one know of that had bluish silver eyes?

"We should probably split up and search the town," Lavi suggested as they neared the entrance and the finders.

The group of finders consisted of Kie, Maoso, Toma, and Gozu. Allen was rather relieved to see Toma, him being one of the few finders that truly didn't think him a traitor. However, that feeling was reduced when he spotted Chaoji's two friends. He honestly didn't know what they thought of him and it made him uneasy that he could be surrounded by people who didn't trust him enough to allow him to help. The final finder was one that Allen didn't know personally, but he had heard from Lavi that he was one that Kanda disliked quite a bit and yet for some reason never raised his sword to…

"It's good to see you well, Sir Walker," Toma greeted, gaining a surprised look from Gozu.

"Wait, you're Allen Walker?" Gozu asked, pointing dumbly at him.

"Um… Yes?" Allen nodded, feeling rather uneasy for some reason.

Before he knew what had happened, he was wrapped up in strong arms with his face smashed into Gozu's chest. He couldn't even move his arms and if he flailed with his legs, he risked kicking the man in the knee and toppling them over with Allen most likely on the bottom to be crushed beneath the finder. But still, the need for air was great as he struggled to free himself without harming the other. Finally, Gozu released him enough to breath. Inhaling quickly, Allen found his new air being forced back out as the man began to twirl with him in his arms.

"I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you~!" Gozu laughed as Allen started to look a little green.

'Well, if nothing else, no one will recognize him cause his head will be in a bucket throwing up his breakfast,' C.C. chuckled as Timcampy fluttered around the spinning man, hoping to free his young master.

"I… think… I'm gonna… hurl," Allen whimpered.

"Oh! Sorry~!" Gozu laughed some more as he set Allen free.

Allen responded by collapsing to the ground as his legs gave out on him, "Ugh…"

"It's just that when I went on a mission with Mister Kanda, he tried to cheer me up by telling me about you, Mister Walker," Gozu explained.

"BaKanda?" Allen gaped.

"Are you sure that it wasn't some lady that looked like him?" Lavi asked.

"Nope," Gozu shook his head, "This was long before Mister Kanda fully linked with Mugen. So say, is it true?" He beamed, as Allen did a fancy jump to return to his feet.

"Show off," Lavi smirked.

"Oi, you try getting up with just one hand," Allen grumbled, "I thank my training as a clown so very much to allow me to do so. Anyway, is what true?"

"That when you guys destroy an akuma, the soul that is trapped in its body flies up to heaven," Gozu stated, a pleading look in his eyes.

'He's got an innocent mind and a kind heart,' O.K. thought through his link to Lavi, 'He's a rarity on the battlefield. Most like him get shattered after their first real battle.'

'Maybe that's why Yuu told him about Allen's curse to see the souls of akuma,' Lavi thought, nodding, 'No matter what the guy thinks, he still cares about others and to see a guy like him break would be hard for anyone to do nothing to help.'

Allen blinked in surprise before kindly smiling at the man, his smile holding a small amount of his pain from seeing countless souls trapped and freed, "It is. My left eye allows me to see their trapped souls and our innocence frees those souls from their cages."

"That's great~!" Gozu shouted, jumping for joy.

'I don't have the heart to tell him about what happens if they aren't destroyed by innocence,' Allen thought sadly.

'He doesn't need to know, baka,' C.C. sighed through their link, 'Allow him his oblivious oblivion for this one thing. It'll keep his mind at peace.'

'Right,' Allen mentally nodded, wishing the he himself did not know what happened to those that were not destroyed properly.

"I'm glad to see you guys," Chaoji said to his two friends.

"Same to you, Chaoji," Maoso chuckled as the group entered the town.

"I'm just happy to see that you're doing alright away from your master," Kie added, ruffling Chaoji's hair.

"I'm just happy that they're here to distract Chaoji from bullying Allen," Lavi whispered to the two pieces of innocence.

"Come on Lavi," Allen chuckled in a poor attempt to hide his pain, "He's had plenty of reason to distrust me."

"How could you be so stupid!" O.K. snapped, locking Lavi in a headlock.

"Should I start calling you baka instead!" C.C. growled, glaring at the redhead with one of his stronger glares.

Allen just chuckled to himself at the overprotectiveness that C.C. held for him. It wasn't quite on the same level as Komui with Lenalee, but it was close. Smiling softly, he thought about the strange man C.C. must have been. He thought about how amazing he must have been to have had for a father. It made him feel a little bad but Allen was grateful to C.C.. His innocence was quickly becoming just like his own…

Allen froze mid-step just as his cursed left eye activated, "They sure didn't take long to get their forces back."

"Doesn't surprise me," Lavi stated, noticing Allen's activated cursed eye, "We only ran into fifty or so level twos on our way here."

O.K.'s eyebrows furrowed together as he noticed something odd about Allen, "Allen? What's up?"

Allen trembled as his left eye scanned the area over and over again, his skin paling more than normal while he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, "Th-there's over two hundred level threes trying to get through the barrier as we speak along with about fifty level twos and roughly the same number of level ones."

Lavi paled a little as did the rest of the humans in the group while C.C. shook his head and O.K. whistled, "Well, the Earl seems pretty determined to get the piece this time."

"Baka," C.C. said, hitting O.K. upside his head, "We both know it's cause the fat bastard thinks he can get to baka."

"…Which baka?" O.K. joked.

"Oi! We're dealing with well over three hundred akuma right now!" Lavi snapped, "Shouldn't you be a little worried?"  
"Easy kid," C.C. said, "We just have to find Bull and then baka can set up a gateway and we'll be out of here. Simple as that. Right baka?"

He receive no answer.

"Baka?" C.C. questioned, looking over to where his wielder stood.

Allen had paled so much that his skin now matched his hair. His silver irises were nearly blocked out by the boy's completely dilated eyes. His breathing was ragged and he seemed to be barely able to stay standing. Noticing his wielder's distress, C.C. tried to open their link only to find that once again fear had sealed that link shut.

"Allen?" C.C. tried, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

The boy's body suddenly hunched forward as he fell to his knees. His upper body suddenly started to convulse in dry heaves as the boy's only hand came to cover his mouth. His eyes were still wide open, trembling as tears slid out of his right eye and twin trails of blood out his left. He seemed to be desperately trying to close his left eye but it would just not shut. The piece of innocence was sure that if he wasn't busy covering his mouth, the boy would be trying to rip out the damn eye to allow him some momentary peace.

"What is it, baka!" C.C. demanded, kneeling beside his wielder and gently rubbing circles on his back.

Allen just shook his head as he tried to regain control of his body. But the sight… The sight of the condition those souls were in…

C.C. growled out as he quickly looked around them trying to see what the teen had seen. He was lucky enough that he could only see what Allen saw when he was his arm, but that didn't seem so lucky now. He had no idea what was causing his wielder to react in such a way. The only time he had seen him like this was…

C.C. yelped when he felt Allen's body suddenly yanking on their link, seeking any kind of comfort it could attain. The pull was almost too strong to fight off. Looking over to O.K., C.C. tried to think of what they could do to help Allen. They all knew that his eye was no longer stopped by things that were in its way. It could and would see through everything so giving him an eye patch was out of the question.

Knocking him out was also out, because they would need him awake to get home and away from any danger. Letting whatever he was seeing that was getting to him to continue to do so was also out. They had to find some way to help Allen before he went crazy enough to really rip out the eye… Or at least take something and stab it…

'Is that an option?' C.C. thought, looking over to Lavi.

"Hey, both times Allen messed up his eye, it regenerated, right?" C.C. asked.

"Yeah but you should know that," Lavi nodded.

"What are you thinking, C.C.?" O.K. asked cautiously.

"There's something out there that Allen can see that's causing this," C.C. explained, "If we get rid of the sight then maybe…maybe we can keep going and get Bull and get out of here."

"Who is Bull?" Lavi asked.

"He's the innocence we're retrieving," O.K. stated, before smacking his wielder upside the head, "That's not the point, idiot! We're talking about disabling Allen by taking out his eye!"

"Do you see any other way?" C.C. growled.

"How about going out and taking out whatever is out there that is making him freak!" O.K. snapped.

"How about no! The only time I've seen Allen react this way when he was using his left eye was when that level four attacked the Order!" C.C. shouted before paling, "…oh fuck…"

"We're surrounded by over three hundred high level akuma, one of which being a level that _**NOBODY**_ is able to destroy without the help of a freaking general level exorcist!" Lavi screamed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" C.C. snapped, silencing the redhead instantly, "If it really is a level four, then we need to get Allen into a more conscious state than him on the ground nearly losing his precious previous meal. The only way I can see that happening is if we take out the source of the problem for a bit."

"But won't he bleed to death if you do so?" Toma voiced.

"Don't worry, I can stop his bleeding," C.C. stated, "One of the many advantages of having a parasitic type wielder. I won't be able to help him heal though. He'll just have to wait and allow time to do its job."

"Won't it…Won't it hurt him?" Gozu asked, worried about his new friend.

"Of course it will hurt!" Lavi nearly snapped, "We're going to be taking out his eye without surgical equipment!"

"W-What if we don't take it out?" Kie asked, also worried about the trembling exorcist.

"Y-Yeah, what if we just injure it?" Maoso added.

"That's what I was thinking of doing," C.C. snorted, "Give me some credit, will you? Like hell I would try to rip out my baka's eye, cursed or not."

"We probably should get this over with or we'll risk gathering a crowd," O.K. stated, keeping a close look out for any unwanted spectators.

"Right," C.C. said before taking a look around, "Let's get him into a building first though. We don't want to freak out the town any more than we already have."

"Sounds good to me," Lavi nodded, running to the closest house, "I'll ask whoever lives here to see if they'll let us stay."

"Come on baka," C.C. groaned as he picked up his wielder, "Let's go get this over with, okay?"

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to come and bite us in the butt?" O.K. asked as the group headed after Lavi.

"What if Mister Walker stops acting like this once we get inside?" Gozu asked.

"He won't," C.C. said simply.

"What C.C. means is that his eye that allows him to see the souls of the akuma can see through anything. If he's actually like this out here, he will still act like it in there," O.K. explained.

"Oh…" Gozu whimpered.

"Hey, don't worry," C.C. sighed, "I hate to say it but this kid's been through a lot worse. Plus, this won't be the first time he's had to go without an eye."

"She said yes!" Lavi shouted, causing everyone to sweatdrop as some nearby women giggled.

"Great now let's get this over with," C.C. ordered as he carried Allen through the doorway.

The innocence didn't even take time to note who the owner was and what their home looked like. All that mattered was taking care of Allen. Sitting him down on the couch once they reached the living area, C.C. quickly worked to pin the boy down as he changed his left hand into Edge. His heart tore at the fear and pained look that the boy gave him as he raised a sword like finger to his eye.

"Wait! C.C.!" O.K. gasped at what he saw, "Are you insane!"

"What?" C.C. questioned.

"That eye is an akuma eye, right?" O.K. questioned, hoping C.C. would get it so that he didn't have to explain any further in front of pineapple hair boy.

"Yeah so?" C.C. asked.

O.K. smacked his forehead, "Then if you stab his eye, he'll lose that eye forever idiot!"

C.C. instantly returned his hand back to normal and looked sympathetically at Allen, "I'm sorry baka."

"Now what?" Lavi asked, "You two can't do it and I have a feeling that Allen's going to thrash around so much that he'll end up causing more damage than needed."

"I can hold him down," C.C. stated, "But one of you guys needs to stab the eye."

Lavi shook his head, tapping his eye patch. "Sorry but I'm out."

"Sorry but I'm squeamish with this kind of stuff," Toma apologized.

"I-I don't think I'd be able to do such a thing," Gozu admitted.

"Same," the two other finders agreed.

'Fuck…that leaves-' the three that still cared about Allen thought.

"I'll do it," Chaoji announced.

'Chaoji…' the three groaned.

"Fine, but go see if the owner has a knife or something that she wouldn't mind to lose," C.C. sighed, moving Allen so that he sat in his lap, "I'm really sorry about this, baka…I know we haven't asked what you think we should do, but I'm asking now…"

"I-I just want the image t-to go away," Allen whispered weakly, tears still falling, "A-And a-all their v-voices to stop crying o-out to me…"

"Shhh," C.C. hushed, his cloak appearing and wrapping around the trembling boy, "It'll all be done soon…It's gonna hurt like hell first."

Allen chuckled very weakly, "C-Can't be w-worse than t-to have a lit c-candle fly into your s-socket."

"True…Though I can sympathize seeing as I had huge nails imbedded in me and then you ripped them right through me in your attempt to get free," C.C. teased.

"Y-You for-forget that I-I felt th-that pain t-too…" Allen remarked.

"I found a knife," Chaoji announced with his return.

"Great…" C.C. groaned, tightening the cloak around Allen so that it the only thing that could move was his head and that too was being held by C.C.'s hands, "Take a deep breath, Allen…"

Allen somehow managed to calm his ragged breathing and slow his heartbeat as he waited for the inevitable.

Chaoji's grip on the knife tightened as Lavi and O.K. seemed to be ready to jump him at any second. It was no secret to any in the room that Chaoji despised Allen. They all knew of his anger towards him. It was something that his two friends just couldn't understand. What they did understand was that something was about to happen that would most likely turn up to be something bad.

'I can finally treat this traitor to what he deserves,' Chaoji thought as he brought the knife up to Allen's face. C.C. had had to already use his fingers to keep the boy's eye open as human instincts started to kick in, 'I can finally inflict some of my pain onto him.'

'That's right, Chaoji,' a sickeningly sweet male voice sounded inside his mind, 'And with that, we too have joined the ranks of those fully linked…'

'Fully linked?' Chaoji thought as his, C.C.'s, and O.K.'s eyes widened, 'Are you my innocence?'

'What a smart boy you are,' the voice chuckled, 'Yes, yes I am. But do not worry about activating me to reach my true form. I rather dislike being in such a form so even if you did activate me, I won't change into that form.'

'Right,' Chaoji noted while the other two pieces scowled at his innocence.

'Now onto more pressing matter,' his innocence smirked, or at least sounded like it did, 'Weren't you just about to show this bastard a taste of the pain that you've endured?'

'Oh! Yes!' Chaoji exclaimed, reading the knife again.

'Good boy,' his innocence said, 'Why don't I lend you a tiny bit of power to help show him who he's messing with.'

Before anyone could stop the boy, his innocence flared to life briefly and died down just before Chaoji rammed the knife into Allen's cursed left eye. A blood curdling scream left the boy's throat as he used up all his air to show the world his pain. C.C. struggled to hold him still while the knife was still in his eye. The boy's right eye was wide open, staring straight into his fellow exorcist's face. What he saw made his heart want to stop…

Chaoji was smirking down at him, enjoying his pain…

Allen let out another scream as his fellow exorcist twisting the knife a full ninety degrees. By then, Lavi and O.K. had snapped out of their shock and grabbed onto Chaoji, yanking him away from their friend. C.C. quickly released Allen's head in favor of yanking the knife out. Releasing his breath that he hadn't known he had been holding, C.C. was dimly aware that if Chaoji hadn't turned it then he probably would have ripped out the eye. But he still didn't need to twist it so much.

Allen was thrashing his head side to side as he struggled against C.C.'s hold. Even with just one arm, the boy was quite the handful for the piece to hold onto. Toma and Gozu quickly rushed to his side and started to bandage up the boy's eye as Kie and Maoso tried to get Chaoji to tell them why he did such a thing. Nobody noticed the woman standing in the doorway with bluish silver eyes, watching with tears running down her face…

* * *

_**Mizu: There you go. There's the latest chapter. I hope that I managed to brighten some of your days.**_

_**Lavi: *nervously* W-Weren't you going to tell them something else?**_

_**Mizu: Of course I was. I just want you guys to know again that I love my readers but I am not a miracle worker. I've got my own problems in the real world that require most of my time. Hell, for the next week I'm going to be working my fingers to the bone trying to make three different cosplay outfits for the convention I'm going to next weekend. **_

_**Lavi: And…**_

_**Mizu: *sighs* Look, I really don't want to tell you guys this but I'm flat out annoyed. Your reviews do inspire me to keep writing and I love you all for that. But there are some of you guys that are getting on my last nerve because you are spamming me with constant reviews of nothing about how you want/need/beg me to update. As stated at the top, I will only give you guys what I deem to be the best for my stories because I feel that you deserve nothing less than that. But I can't just put my life on hold to write these stories no matter how I wish I could. **_

_**It's not that I'm telling you guys not to ask me to update. I have no problem with that so long as you don't start using the word as if it was my name or spam the reviews with the pleads if you don't get the update you want within a week of your review. By spamming I mean reviewing three or more times on the same chapter and saying nothing but how you want me to update or that I'm disappointing you. That's not cool guys. I have pretty low self-esteem so reading your reviews are the highlights of my day because I feel important and that somebody out there actually enjoys what I do. When I read how upset or disappointed you are of me for the petty reason of me not updating every single week, that makes me feel like crud and makes me want to write even less. **_

_**Lavi: There, now was that so hard?**_

_**Mizu: Yes…I didn't want it to come to the point that I actually had to tell my readers that it was bothering me…Anyway, remember that I truly do love all reviews and suggestions so long as you aren't spammers. Ciao for now minna-san…**_


	14. Saving them at a cost

_**Mizu: Splitting this chapter kind of in two as I work out the kinks for the next chapter. I was originally going to keep them together but it just didn't flow as nice as it will separate. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man and it is a good thing that I don't. You'd guys would have killed me by now for never updating!**_

_**(P.S. Sorry I haven't updating in FOREVER...I truly am. Life has just kept running me over with so many things that I could never actually get around to going through and making sure that I liked what I wrote. In all honesty, I've had this and Chapter 15 done for like six months but I didn't like a part so I had to redo that and then whenever I tried to go through and make sure that everything flowed just right (something I've been doing more), things kept happening...like my laptop crashing several times or having to go into the shop...Anyways, just wanted to say that I'm sorry and that I will try to be better at updating.)**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form:**_

_**Chapter 14- Saving them at a cost…**_

* * *

_Allen was thrashing his head side to side as he struggled against C.C.'s hold. Even with just one arm, the boy was quite the handful for the piece to hold onto. Toma and Gozu quickly rushed to his side and started to bandage up the boy's eye as Kie and Maoso tried to get Chaoji to tell them why he did such a thing. Nobody noticed the woman standing in the doorway with silver eyes with light blue mixed in watching with tears running down her face…_

Allen trembled in C.C.'s hold. The cloak that was used to hold him still was now used to help comfort as C.C. worked to stop the bleeding in his eye. A weak, relieved smile worked its way onto Allen's face as he shut his eyes. He couldn't see it anymore. His sight had been reduced to just the light side of the world and for once, he was fine with that. He allowed his body to relax against his innocence as he tried not to fall asleep.

C.C. let out a long sigh as he felt Allen completely relax. He had just managed to stop the bleeding by basically blocking off the area to blood until the wound could cauterize. It didn't take as long as he had thought but it still wasn't the greatest best thing in the world to have to do. Stretching slightly, he could feel his body strain against the stiffness in his limbs. The whole ordeal had drained not only him, but his wielder as well. Neither had the strength to battle as of now. Hell, Allen didn't have the strength to even walk right now.

"How is he C.C.?" Lavi asked as he sat next to them.

"He'll be fine," C.C. sighed, "But we should probably get him somewhere where he can get some food in him."

"Um…Excuse me?" the woman sounded from the doorway, now joined with two girls with auburn hair just like hers and light blue eyes with specks of silver, "I-I could prepare you something to eat if it would help."

"Thanks but we can't ask you to do that," Lavi nervously chuckled.

"It would be no trouble for me, honest!" The woman suddenly exclaimed, "I really don't mind and if it would help him-"

"It's not that ma'am," C.C. spoke up, "It's that this little baka here can eat enough for an army in one setting. We can't ask you to use up your supplies for someone you don't know."

"…Then allow me to take you to my sister's restaurant," the woman said after a pause, "She's just starting up so she doesn't get a lot of customers so she has plenty of supplies."

"S-Sounds good to me," Allen chuckled weakly, "F-Food in general sounds good…"

"Alright," C.C. nodded, smiling up at the woman, "Thank you…"

"Cecilia Carter," the woman introduced, "And these are my two daughters, Iris and Clover."

"Nice to meet you ma'am," Lavi smiled, "Just call me Lavi, we call the guy with the weird cloak C.C., the one that looks like my older brother and who is currently chewing out our comrade goes by O.K., the one that did the deed is Chaoji Han, the guys in the long trenchcoats are our finder friends, Toma, Maoso, Kie, and Gozu, and the little guy that did all the screaming is our little Moyashi-chan, Allen Walker…wheew…That was a mouthful."

"Hey, stupid rabbit. Ever heard of a thing called tact?" C.C. growled out as he stood up with Allen firmly in his arms, stumbling a bit in his own energy deprived state, "Fuck…baka here really needs to eat…"

"yay…food…" Allen weakly cheered.

"Then let's go get him fed," Cecilia giggled very nasally, walking out of the room.

'That giggle,' C.C. thought, 'Why does it make me want to shudder?...her voice sounds so familiar and she looks like someone I should remember...'

"Andrea will be happy to have customers~!" Cecilia beamed as they left the house after grabbing the rest of their group.

C.C. felt his eye twitch for some reason, 'What is it about her that ticks me off and yet makes me want to run away from her?'

"It's right across the street~!" Iris beamed, she and her sister running across.

"Come on! Auntie needs a surprise!" Clover laughed.

"Girls, they can't move as fast as you!" Cecilia chided, turning to face C.C., "I really do hope that this helps you."

As the woman turned back around, C.C. froze. Those eyes…Those eyes that were so similar and so caring that had haunted him for the longest time before he and Allen were free from them. It couldn't be. Their luck wasn't that bad…was it?

'O.K.!' C.C. screamed through their link, pounding as hard as he could on O.K.'s "door".

'What!?' O.K. gasped in his mind as he flung open the link, eyes wide as he looked over at the frozen C.C.

'Th-That woman! Sh-She's Allen's mother!' C.C. shouted, body snapping out of its shock and trotting to catch up.

'_**What!?**_' O.K. screamed, 'Are you sure!?'

'Like hell I would forget what she looked or even sounded like!' C.C. snapped, 'I had to listen to her babble on and on and say the most idiotic stuff.'

'…Hey…C.C.?' O.K. interrupted.

'What?' C.C. blinked.

'Did you make sure that your link to Allen was closed?' O.K. asked, eyes locked on the wide eyed boy in C.C.'s arms.

C.C. froze mid step and looked down at his wielder, 'Fuck…'

'Why do you call him baka again?' O.K. snickered, ignoring the dirty look it got him.

"C.C.?" Allen weakly sounded.

"Shhh baka…" C.C. sighed, "We'll talk about it later…"

Allen said nothing as he turned his head to watch the woman who apparently was his mother walk into a cozy looking restaurant.

"Here we are~!" she beamed.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Carter," Toma said on behalf of the group.

"Don't worry about it," Cecilia laughed, "Hey, Andy~! I brought you a bunch of customers!"

There were several loud crashes from the kitchen before three flour covered people rushed out, "Really!?"

"Mmhm~!" Cecilia smiled as she led the group to the closest tables, "And from what I've heard, they've got a big appetite~!"

"I freaking love ya sis~!" a woman with brown hair almost dark enough to be pulled off as black and bright blue eyes squealed as she glomped Cecilia.

"I know Andy," Cecilia laughed as her sister let her go in favor of inspecting her customers.

"Huh? Oh dear!" Andrea gasped, rushing up to Allen's face, "What on earth happened to you child?"

"Eh…n-nothing really," Allen weakly smiled.

"Who could do such a thing…" Andrea whimpered, "Auntie Andy will make it all better~!"

'Auntie Andy?' C.C. and Allen both chuckled through their link, noticing the pair of redheads stifle their laughter.

"Tell me, kiddo, what can I get for you to eat?" Andrea asked, winking at the weak teen.

"Um…" Allen sounded, truly thinking what he wanted.

'It's been a while since we've been to England and I haven't had any of my favorite dishes from this country in a long time…' Allen thought, link still wipe open, causing C.C. to sweatdrop a little.

'P-Please just pick a couple of soups so that I don't have to force scones down your throat…' C.C. whimpered.

"I guess I'll take for starters Chicken and Leek Soup, Eggs Florentine, Tomato Consommé, oooh Forest Soup sounds good too, of course a couple of orders of Fish and Chips, Beef stew, Game Pie, some Braised Lamb Shanks, Chicken Balti Curry, Wild Mushroom Lasagna, Turkey Penne, Kedgeree, Cornish Pastries, Beef Wellington, some Piccalilli if you have some ready, a dozen or so English Muffins, about two dozen Fruit Scones, a couple Lemon tarts, Pimm's Jelly, and some nice Blood Pudding," Allen listed off, an innocent look on his face as the woman's jaw fell open more and more until it had reached the floor.

"Hey leave some food for us, Moyashi-chan~!" Lavi laughed as the rest seemed to pale a little, "And why are you going easy on her? You know you could easily eat way more than that~!"

"I don't want to eat them out of their house and home, Lavi," Allen grumbled before perking up, "Oh, and do you have any Silver Needle White Tea?"

"Y-Yes," the woman answered shakily.

"Wonderful~!" Allen beamed, smiling so happy and bright that the staff around them felt their shock slip away and be replaced with wanting to help keep that smile there, "I would like that to go along with my meal~!"

"Of course kiddo," Andrea smiled, "And the rest of you?"

As soon as everybody else had ordered, Andrea and the two cooks she had just hired set off to work on the giant order. Meanwhile, the woman that had brought them and her two daughters just sat across from Allen and stared in disbelief.

"Can you really eat all that?" Cecilia asked.

"Actually, that's nowhere near as much as he can eat," C.C. chuckled as Allen stuck his tongue out at him, "But it was only a month or so ago that he finally got his appetite back."

"And whose fault was that?" Allen grumbled.

"…You can pay right?" Cecilia whispered.

Everyone at the table executed a perfect anime style face fall.

"O-Of course we can pay!" Lavi and the two pieces of innocence snapped, "If we couldn't, Mr. Bottomless pit here would have starved to death a million times over by now~!"

"Oi…" Allen said with a twitching eye.

"Just wanted to make sure~!" Cecilia giggled, "So what brings you to our lovely town?"

"We're actually searching for something rather important," Allen explained, rubbing his forehead.

"What would this important thing look like?" Cecilia asked, smiling at the group, "My girls and I know this town like the back of our hands so if you could tell us what it looks like it, I'm sure we'll be able to help you find it."

"Thanks for the offer ma'am but we don't even know what it's supposed to look like," Lavi nervously chuckled.

'Not entirely a lie but…' C.C. and O.K. thought to themselves.

"Then how will you know when you've found it?" Cecilia asked.

"We'll just know," Allen and Lavi just shrugged.

"Um…Mister?" Clover sounded.

"Hm?" C.C. and Allen blinked.

"Why do you only have one arm?" the little girl asked.

The exorcists and their innocence all flinched at the little girl's question.  
"W-Well…" Allen stuttered, mind grasping at straws for an answer, "I-I was born only having my right arm."

"Really?" Clover gasped.

"Y-yep!" Allen nervously chuckled.

'If C.C. hadn't joined up with me then I really would have been born with only one arm so it's not a total lie,' Allen thought.

"Is it hard living with only one arm?" Iris asked, her legs happily swinging back and forth.

"No, not really," Allen smiled, "I've only ever had one so I don't know what it feels like to have two."

'Kind of true. For a long time, I was completely useless as an arm,' C.C. thought.

"Really? I think that that would be so weird! I mean, if I only had one arm, how could I do my gymnastics?" Iris laughed.

"I guess that's true," Clover joined in, "I wouldn't be able to go with daddy and practice archery~!"

"Girls," Cecilia tried to hush.

"It's fine, Mrs. Carter," Allen tried to sooth, "I'm pretty much used to it by now."

"Hmph," Chaoji sounded from his seat, "I really don't get it…you're a freak but everyone seems to always feel sorry for you."

"Chaoji!" Kie snapped.

"What's gotten into you lately, Chaoji?" Maso questioned under his breath.

"Th-That's alright," Allen said nervously, "He is kind of righ-"

"It's always you," Chaoji growled, glaring down the table at the cursed teen, "No matter how bad everyone else's lives are, they will always feel sorry for poor little Allen…They don't even care that you're under trial for heresy…"

"Chaoji!" Lavi snapped.

"You bite your tongue you little whelp!" C.C. shouted, "Allen has done more for the Order than you can imagine! He's lost more too!"

"If you badmouth him one more time, I don't care if I get sent back!" O.K. growled, "I will personally make sure that you know what it feels like to be burned alive!"

"That's enough!" Allen snapped, quickly whacking all the persecutors on the head, "Stop scaring everyone!"

The four main components of the disruption looked around at the terrified faces before sheepishly apologizing.

"Geez, you guys are hopeless," Allen sighed, trying to hide the goosebumps on his person.

'C.C….I think your temper freaked your wielder out again,' O.K. sighed through the innocence link.

"Sorry…" C.C. whimpered in apology.

"What did he mean heresy?" Cecilia asked.

"Huh? Oh, well…let's just say that I'm different than everyone else where I work and a lot of people don't like it," Allen explained, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Where do you work?" Cecilia questioned.

"We're affiliated with the Catholic church so they don't normally like those different than them to begin with," Lavi sighed, running a hand through his fiery hair, "Actually, all of the members are different than the "normal" person but Allen here is just a little more so."

"I see," Cecilia nodded, before shaking her clenched hands and rushing to Allen to clasp his single hand in between her two, "But that's just horrible! To label you a heretic just because you a slightly different! Those heartless bastards!"

All the Black Order members were struck silent at that comment.

"U-um…ma'am, care to rephrase that?" O.K. nervously laughed.

"No siree, I do not!" Cecilia huffed, "I believe in the Holy Father, our beloved God in heaven, but I do not and never will believe in the church that supposedly serves as the link between us mortals and Him."

Another round of silence struck the group until the two pieces of innocence and Allen suddenly erupted into laughter. The one armed teen collapsed to the ground in his laughter as the innocence flung their arms around each other. As they tried to regain their control over their lungs, the rest of the gathered people just stared at the two in dumbfounded confusion.

"I-I like this lady!" O.K. snorted as the laughing trio slowly regained control over their diaphragms.

"I-If only Leverrier or that damn Apocryphos could have heard that!" C.C. roared with laughter.

"Huh?" Cecilia blinked.

"D-Don't worry about it, ma'am," Allen struggled to say, wiping a tear from his eye, "I needed that."

"What was so funny?" Lavi questioned.

"Not so much funny as it was relieving," O.K. chuckled, "We just weren't expecting to find someone besides us who feels the same way about the church as us."

"Here's your meal dearies~!" Andrea beamed as she and the other chefs quickly brought out several steaming plates, "We'll bring out the rest as we finish them."

"That's no problem," Allen nodded, taking his seat once more, "This mission isn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be."

"I'm glad," Cecilia sighed happily, staring at the young exorcist, "…Can I ask you a question?"

"Go right ahead, ma'am," Allen stated as he prepared to dig into the first dish of his meal while the rest of the group did the same.

"I can't shake the feeling that we've met somewhere before," Cecilia said, "What about you sis? Doesn't he look familiar to you?"

Allen and his innocence along with the duo of redheads flinched.

"Now that you mention it, he does," Andrea stated, staring at the silver eyed exorcist.

"Y-You must be mistaken," Allen stuttered, raising the eyebrows of everyone at the table, "Th-This is the first time that we've ever met."

Andrea sighed before rubbing her sister's shoulder, "Well…it's not like he could be him anyway, sis."

"Him?" Gozu spoke up for the first time in awhile.

"My son...The man I was married to previously went crazy a long time ago and sold him off while I was severely ill to a circus…" Cecilia whimpered her arms wrapping around herself, "When I found out what he had done, I tried everything in my power to find my baby. I hired countless people to try and find the circus but they never found a trace of him…"

"The dick was locked away after that so that he would never get a chance to do the same to anyone else," Andrea smirked.

Cecilia stared at Allen silently for a moment, "You truly do look so very familiar…and so very close to how I have always imagined for my son to grow up to look like…"

"Maybe you've seen me pass through this town once before," Allen suggested with a slight tremor in his voice.

"That's probably it," Cecilia sighed, resting her head in her hands, "So much for that hope…"

"Don't worry sis," Andrea said slightly sadly as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "One day…One day you'll get to see him again."

'If only you knew…' Allen thought to himself, ignoring C.C.'s sorrowful look.

* * *

The rest of the meal passed by relatively quickly with only the finders discussing where they roughly thought the innocence was located. Too bad for them, the pieces of innocence already knew where it was but neither were looking forward to retrieving it. Allen had remained quiet the entire time, slowly working through his large meal. He had far too much on his mind. He knew that he couldn't say anything to the woman that was supposedly his mother but at the same time he had to watch her interact with his little sisters with so much pain in her eyes that it made him long to confess everything.

"Alright," C.C. sighed, heart clenching every time he looked at the torn expression on his wielder's face, "Enough dilly dallying. O.K. and I know where Bull is at so let's go get it and get out of here."

"Wait…You already know where it's at?" Toma blinked as the innocence stood up.

"Yeah, O.K. and I have been talking to him for the past while," C.C. sighed, looking at Cecilia and her daughters, "Ma'am…could you please take us back to your home?"

"Sure but may I ask, why?" Cecilia asked as she too stood.

"The item we seek…We know for a fact that it lies in your home," O.K. stated, running a hand through his red locks.

"How do you know that mister?" Clover asked.

"Did you see it?" Iris asked.

"In a way yes," O.K. nodded while C.C. pulled Allen out of his thoughts, "So if we might be on our way in retrieving it."

"Certainly," Cecilia nodded before crossing her arms, "Right after you pay."

The entire group of men from the Black Order fell over before Toma quickly pulled out plenty of money to cover the meal.

'A bit stingy isn't she?' C.C. snickered.

'Well, seeing as we did bring in the human bottomless pit for lunch I think she's being reasonable,' O.K. chuckled.

"Alright, here we are," Cecilia said as she opened her door once again to the strange group, "What exactly are you looking for anyway?"

C.C. sighed heavily before turning to the woman, "Unfortunately, we are looking for the vase that you have placed as a way to remember your lost child."

"W-What?" Cecilia gasped as Allen's eyes widened.

"W-We can't take that!" Allen snapped, "That's her connection to her son! You can't just take it!"

"I don't want to take it, baka!" C.C. snapped back, "But we have our orders to retrieve the innocence that has begun to awaken! If we don't, this family and everyone else in this town will be in danger!"

"B-But…" Allen wanted to argue but he couldn't. He knew that C.C. was right. If they didn't take the innocence, sooner or later the barrier that it was keeping up was going to fail and the entire town would be destroyed. Biting down on his lip, Allen looked away from the distraught faces of the family. This was going to protect them. By doing this, they would be safe. They would be heartbroken yes but they would also be safe… "Y-You're right C.C…."

'I'm so sorry Allen,' C.C. thought to himself as he quickly walked to the living area where a fireplace stood, 'I know that this isn't fair to you or them but it has to be done."

"W-Wait! Can't you take something else?!" Cecilia cried, being held back by Lavi and O.K., "I'll give you anything else just not that vase!"

C.C. was silent as his eyes came to rest on a beautifully crafted and painted vase seated on the top of the fireplace mantle. The vase sat next to an old photograph of a smiling woman happily holding what looked to be a six month old Allen on her lap. On the vase were two tiny hand prints with a name painted in careful strokes above them. In the piece of pottery was a bouquet of flowers that would haunt C.C. for nights to come.

'Cypress flower to represent death and mourning, the Eglantine Rose to show for the wound on her heart, a bright Marigold to show the families pain and grief, Rosemary for remembrance, White liliac that means youthful innocence and memories placed in the center, and Snow Drops which mean consolation or hope surrounding the entire rim of the vase,' C.C. noted as he slowly pulled the flowers from the vase, 'She still can't get over losing her first child the way she did…'

'Can you blame her?' a deep voice sounded as C.C. placed the flowers beside the picture, 'Her son was stolen from her while she was too sick to do anything about it, C.C….'

'I know, Bull…I know…' C.C. stated, picking up the vase, '…Allen's so confused right now. First he finds out that this is his family, then that his mother has been trying to find him for so long, and now I'm going to have to explain how I've always been keeping tabs on his family through you instead of just recently…he's going to want to go through my memories to get to know them more…'

'I can't say that I wouldn't if I were in the same position as the boy,' Bull sighed as C.C. quickly exited, ignoring the screams of the family, 'He's never known his family and before that precious Mana of his, he never even knew love.'

"C.C.!" Allen shouted, as the group tried to catch up with the innocence that was quickly stalking down the street, "Shouldn't we at least give them something back in return?"

"Give them what, baka?" C.C. sighed, "We're taking their last piece of their lost family member from them. It's not like we can just replace it."

"W-We…" Allen started to say before deciding better of it. After all, even if he was her son, he could never be with them and could never replace the hole in their lives that had been there for so long.

C.C. tried his best to ignore the pained look in Allen's eyes as they headed for the edge of town. It was hard but there was nothing he could do about it.

Lavi sighed heavily as he pulled Allen in for a one-armed hug, "Cheer up, Moyashi-chan. We're saving them by doing this."

"You're right," Allen sighed before he finally started to take in his surroundings, "Wait…this isn't how we came into town, is it?"

"No, the order wants us to go to the church at the south end of town and set up a new gate to get home," Kie stated.

"Why the change of orders?" Allen asked, stunned that he actually had permission to set up a gate.

"We phoned in earlier while you were getting over…your eye problem," Maoso grimaced as he spoke.

"They don't want to risk losing any innocence fighting against a level four," Gozu added, "So they said that it would be the smartest course of action to return straight to the order."

Allen stared at the finders with a wide eye before stopping dead in his tracks, "N-No…"

"No? No what, Walker-san?" Maoso asked.

"Allen?" Lavi blinked.

"They'll be in danger if we suddenly disappear with the innocence," Allen whispered, glaring down at the ground, "We won't be protecting them this way…"

"What are you talking about baka?" C.C. asked as he handed the vase over to Toma.

"We won't be protecting them if we just leave through a gate!" Allen snapped, eye wide in fear, "The second we leave, the barrier will fall and all those akuma outside of it will come swarming in and kill everyone in town!"

"What are you talking about? If we leave, so will the akuma-" Chaoji started to say, his innocence chuckling in his head about how stupid the Noah child was being.

"No they won't!" Allen shouted at the pineapple head, "They won't know that the innocence has been moved so they will still attack the town!"

"He's right you know," O.K. sighed heavily as he looked over at C.C.

"I know," C.C. grumbled, "Sis is seriously right. Why do I call him baka?"

"C.C.!" Allen cried out, eye desperately searching his weapon's, "Please, we've got to lead them away from town!"

"Wait a second Allen!" Lavi jumped in, "You're in no condition to be fighting anyone. Why should you be the one to lead them away?"

"Because…Because the Earl will still want me alive if they catch me!" Allen exclaimed, knowing the strange spot in his heart the Earl had for the Noah within him, "So the akuma won't be allowed to kill me and that will give me plenty of time to draw them far from the town before summoning a gate."

"No way," Lavi shook his head, "I don't care what you say. I'm not letting you do that!"

"Then what should we do!" Allen snapped.

'Send me back with the finders,' Bull stated through the link with C.C., 'That way you don't have to worry about me. The level four akuma that Allen saw earlier has been called back as well so it shouldn't be as bad out there.'

'It's still going to be bad,' C.C. snorted, "Alright. Here's what we're going to do. The finders go back through the gate here with the innocence. The rest of us will stay here to back up Allen as he and I lead them away from the town. Got it?"

"Well, it's better than letting you have all the fun," O.K. shrugged as Allen's face lit up.

"Thank you C.C.!" Allen beamed as he quickly set to work on summoning a gate.

"Don't thank me just yet," C.C. sighed, "We haven't recovered enough strength from earlier to allow me to easily change back into your arm plus the fact that if I did we'd mess up your inner timeline once again and I think T.R. will kill me if I allowed that to happen."

"Duly noted," Allen said as the gate appeared, "Get going guys."

"Be careful Walker-san," Gozu said as he entered the gate.

"We'll ask Komui to send some reinforcements your way as soon as we get back," Kie stated before hurrying through.

"Come back safe!" Maoso smiled weakly before disappearing.

"Walker-san…" Toma sighed before smiling at the boy, "I'll explain everything to Link-san as to why you will have summoned two gates in such a small amount of time."

"Thank you, Toma," Allen smiled back before the finder left and the gate disappeared.

"Shall we?" C.C. asked, his cloak appearing around him and surrounding Allen.

"We don't have much a choice, now do we?" Lavi sighed before smirking as O.K. transformed into his weapon form, "Let's go kick some akuma ass."

* * *

_**Mizu: This is really just a filler chapter to lead up to the epic battle scene~! And when I say epic, I mean I'm trying my best to right something that would be considered only slightly good…Yeah, Mizu does not have a high amount of faith in her writing abilities.**_

_**Allen: …Is your goal in every fanfic to make me hate you?**_

_**Mizu: …kind of because if I didn't, it means that I just have to keep trying harder. Btw, if anyone was curious, one of the biggest things I had taken out of this chapter and story was a passing thought about how maybe Allen isn't the age we think he is. I mean, he technically was forced to work in circus's for so long that maybe they just never thought to keep track. That and C.C. has been alive for so long that time doesn't really move the same for him. A year wouldn't feel the same to him as it would to us. *shrugs* It was just a passing thought. I had put it in and had really gone off with it but then I realized that I couldn't bring it in for the main idea of the story soooo...yeah, I just dropped it all. I tried to get the chapter to flow without that scene but it might feel jumpy at places because I did take a good chunk out. Anyways, remember that I love all reviews and suggestions~! Ciao for now everyone~!**_

_**Allen: Go ahead and check this fanfic of the list of those that I hate you for…**_


	15. Not an Enemy

_**Mizu: Here's the next chapter~! Okay, before we continue on, I'd just like to point something out here. I am very lazy when it comes to writing out names. So Chaoji's after the initial stating of its name will be called A.B. just because I don't feel like writing out Arm of Baptism thirty times. This does not mean that it will remain A.B. for forever. I'll probably end up changing it later on but for now, A.B. will do. Disclaimer: Mizu does not own **__**-Man and this is probably very good. I think Allen would kill me if I did with all the attempts at his life I've made with all my stories…**_

_**Also...there are several minor time jumps in this chapter...**_

* * *

_**Innocence's True Form**_

_**Chapter Fifteen- Not an Enemy…**_

* * *

_Later, back at the Order…_

.

"You foul, disgusting, heartless bastard!" Lenalee's voice echoed through the halls of the Order.

"L-Lenale-" Chaoji started to say.

A hard resounding slap filled everyone's ears as Chaoji stumbled away from the enraged woman.

"You damn close minded man!" Lenalee shouted, tears filling her eyes, "How could you just let him fall like that! You were right there dammit!"

Nobody said a word as the Chinese exorcist crumbled to her knees.

"You were right there," she cried.

* * *

_One hour earlier…_

.

"So much for leading them away," Lavi grumbled as he destroyed several akuma at once.

"Drop it Lavi!" Allen snapped, brushing a few blood soaked bangs from his face, "You can complain to me later!"

"Complaining? I'm not complaining! I'm merely voicing my displeasure of the current situation!" Lavi snapped.

"It's not that bad Lavi!" Allen shouted back as C.C. pulled him out of the way of an attack, "At least you can still use your innocence fully!"

"_**Oi, leave me out of this!**_" O.K. chuckled.

"I swear that as soon as we get through this, I'm putting you through so much training," C.C. snapped.

Th group of exorcists and their innocence cursed as another wave of akuma came rushing towards them. Allen had been right with his assumption of the akuma's actions once the barrier was gone. The second the gate closed, every single akuma came racing in towards the town. Thankfully, Bull had been correct that the level four had left for the time being, however they did not trust the idea that it would stay away for long. All three exorcists jumped into the hoard of the akuma, praying to finish everything up quickly.

That had been a good hour ago. Now they were fighting off what they hoped to be the final wave. The street that they fought on was dyed in blood. Carcasses of akuma covered the ground. Each exorcist held a single basic position as they fought. C.C. and Allen stuck to the roofs using their agility to evade the high level akuma that targeted them. Lavi placed himself in between the akuma and the houses, fighting mainly level twos foolish to think they could beat the one eyed man. That left Chaoji on the street taking care of the low flyers and low levels. It also put the man in charge of keeping the general public safe.

"How many more is that fat bastard going to send just for one piece of innocence?!" C.C. growled, both he and Allen breathing heavily.

"_**Dunno and don't care!**_" O.K. shouted as Lavi slammed him down on the ground to summon a fire seal, "_**Why did I ever think being a hammer would be awesome!**_"

"I'm pretty sure it had to do with one of your sexual innuendos," C.C. chuckled as Lavi paled and nearly dropped O.K.

"Okay…Waaaay too much information on my part," Allen shuddered.

"You're one to talk, White Virgin," O.K. grumbled as Lavi chuckled at how Allen's face flushed slightly.

"Yeah but I didn't pick it," C.C. smirked.

'Do those two ever shut up?' Chaoi groaned as he fought off a few akuma.

'Unfortunately no,' his innocence grumbled, 'Hm? Hey kid. Don't look now but that woman from earlier and her snot nose brats are getting pretty close to the fighting.'

'Should we go stop them?' Chaoji asked.

'No…let them see why we had to take that stupid vase,' Arm of Baptism said, 'Besides, the Noah traitor seems quite fond of them for some reason. Let him find them screaming for help.'

'B-But they're human!' Chaoji gaped.

'I didn't say that we wouldn't save them. I just want that Noah bastard to suffer as much as possible,' A.B. growled.

They didn't have to wait long for Allen to notice the three rushing towards them.

"C.C.!" Allen shouted, trying to pull C.C.'s attention.

"What baka? A little busy keeping us alive right now," C.C. growled, fighting against a level three as he and Allen fought their exhaustion.

"They're here!" Allen shouted, sliding down the side of the roof.

"Who's here?" C.C. questioned, nervous to where his wielder was going.

"My family!" Allen snapped, groaning as weakened legs hit the ground.

"What!?" C.C. gasped, barely blocking an attack.

'Chaoji, what are you doing?' Allen questioned as he hurried towards the terrified family, 'I know that you're nearby and can see them.'

"Mister Walker!" Clover cried from where they were huddled together.

"What are you doing here?" Allen asked, worry overcoming him.

"W-We wanted to try and stop you from taking b-big br-brother's vase," Iris stuttered.

Allen let out a heavy sigh as he tried to keep an eye on the action. Without C.C. by his side and being too weak to call him back and use his weapon form, the exorcist was nearly as helpless as the three civilians in front of him. The only difference was that they akuma's virus wouldn't kill him, "Look. That vase is made out of this super rare material, the only material in the world that his strong enough to kill all of these monsters that you see here. We took it not only to use against these monsters but because these monsters also hunt for it. They want to limit us in their fight against us. They were going to kill you to get it if we hadn't taken it.

"So please," Allen pleaded, picking up one of the girls, "Please understand and get inside so that all of what we've done won't be in vain."

Praying that the woman would follow quickly, Allen weaved through the streets, the other twin following close behind him, towards a rose of houses far enough away from the fighting so that he could return to the fighting without as much worry. He cursed as he stumbled, wishing that he had his other arm now more than ever. Running up the steps, Allen leaned back and kicked at the door.

"Open up! Please! I've got two kids and their mother with me!" Allen called out, "Please! Please let them in!"

The door slowly cracked open to reveal an old woman, "Q-Quickly…get inside little ones."

"Thank you," Allen let out a relieved sigh as he sat the girl down.

"And the mother?" the woman asked as Clover and Iris ran inside.

Allen turned in time to see the woman stumble as a stray level two chased after her, "Shit!"

The woman let out a blood curdling scream as the akuma started to fire at her. She closed her eyes and waited for death as tears slipped down her cheeks. She heard a loud yell of pain and a pained grunt. Slowly, she peeked open an eye. The mother gasped at what she saw before her. There in front of her was the boy from earlier. The one that she had allowed in her house and watched as his comrade stabbed his eye. The one that laughed and instantly cared about her like no other. The one who's eye held such pain and, unlike the others, did not truly want to steal her only connection to her son. The boy that appeared out of nowhere and tried to lead her foolish self to safety.

The boy had fallen to a knee as his single arm grasped at his chest. His skin had black stars that seemed to be multiplying quickly. Harsh breathing echoed in the woman's ears. A deep gash ran down his left thigh. A bone protruded from the skin of his right leg. The black stars no longer multiplied. Rather, the boy's skin had now completely turned to black.

"F-Fuck," Allen groaned, clenching at his chest, "N-Never thought I'd be thankful to Tyki for this hole…"

"Mr. Walker?" Cecilia whimpered, "A-are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Allen weakly smiled as the darkness of his skin began to recede towards the inverted pentagram on his forehead, "J-Just taking a little longer amount of time to cleanse my body of this virus."

"Virus?" the mother asked nervously.

Allen nodded slightly, "It's their primary killing weapon. Once you get hit with it, you've got less than a minute left to live."

"B-But you said-!" Cecilia exclaimed.

"I am a parasitic type exorcist," Allen said, cutting the woman off, "I have the ability to purify myself of the virus."

Through the link to C.C., a certain, rather irritably upset voice roared, **'**_**Of all the half brained martyr attempts you've made so far, this one has got to be the outright dumbest of all! I swear when I get there I'm going to beat the martyr out of you so bad that you'll think Tyki ripping a hole through your heart was pleasurable!'**_

'Love you too, C.C.' Allen chuckled slightly.

C.C. stammered for a moment before growling, 'Just stay there. I'm coming your way.'

'Good cause,' Allen nervously laughed, 'um…I don't think I'll be going anywhere by myself for a while…'

'…What happened?' C.C. asked.

'I broke my leg on the akuma's head…?'

**'**_**See! This is the side of you that the others don't see! This is why I call you baka!**_**'** C.C. fumed.

"Exorcists?" Cecilia asked, pieces clicking together in her mind.

"Yeah. That's how I work for the church," Allen said, voice trembling slightly with exhaustion, "But never mind that. You need to get inside."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me," Allen smiled, "this is what I do every day."

'You break your leg every day?' C.C. snorted, 'Or you risk your life being a martyr every day?'

The woman still seemed hesitant but soon her fear over the situation spurred her towards the haven that held her daughters.

"Chaoji," Allen said, not tuning to the man approaching from behind him, "Thank you for finishing off that akuma."

Chaoji stayed silent as he stared at the one-armed exorcist. When he had finally noticed the danger the woman had been in, Allen had already acted. He sprung on the monster, ignoring being shot and slashed at. Chaoji had barely taken a step towards them when Allen kicked the akuma in the face as hard as he could. The force of the kick had broken his leg but it had also sent the akuma flying straight towards Chaoji. The Chinese exorcist quickly disposed of the Earl's pawn. When he turned again, he watched as Allen cleansed his body of the virus. Regardless of what he thought of the Noah that resided within the boy's body, even Chaoji had to admit the boy himself was amazing.

"Let's just hurry up and finish here so we can go home," Chaoji sighed.

"Right," Allen sighed as he used a broken sign post near him as a crutch to stand, "There doesn't seem to be many more akuma left."

Before Chaoji could respond, a scream drew both of their attention. The street below them had started to quake violently. Cracks raced through the ground. The two exorcists looked to each other before they turned back to Cecilia. The woman was stuck on the shifting ground as a deep hole quickly appeared beneath her.

"Shit!" both cursed before racing towards the woman.

Chaoji was almost to the woman when a new level two blindsided him and carried him off. Allen cursed as he tried to reach the woman in time. Pain coursed through his veins with every forced step he took. The ground beneath the mother was quickly disappearing. Fear gripped the cursed teen's heart.

"C.C.!" Allen screamed as he kept working towards his mother, "C.C.! Hurry!"

"Allen!" Lavi's voice sounded in the not too far off distance.

'Hang on baka!' C.C. shouted through their link.

"Mother!" the twins cried from the door of the old woman's home.

"No young ones! You must stay here!" the old woman cried as she struggled to hold back the girls.

"Help me!" Cecilia screamed just as the ground beneath her finally gave out.

"No!" Allen screamed, diving for her with everything in his body screaming out along with him.

Screams echoed through the streets followed by a resounding smack of a hand quickly catching the falling woman's...

"A-Are you okay?" Allen asked weakly.

The woman stared up at her savior. Sweat and blood rolled off his body quickly. Exhaustion was clearly written in his eyes. His breathing was even more ragged than earlier. All of his muscles were completely tense. The muscles in his right arm twitched rapidly and his knuckles were white with his grip on the side of the hole. A dark, reddish black, rough hand held onto her own. Said hand traveled up to become the boy's missing left arm.

'O-Oi! Are you okay?!' C.C. exclaimed through their link.

"S-Sorry," Allen apologized seemingly to no one, "I-I know that doing th-this is going to drain me completely and mess up my inner timeline…But I just couldn't let her fall."

'I know baka,' C.C. sighed as Allen struggled to pulled the woman up to his chest.

"D-Don't worry ma'am…I won't let you fall," Allen smiled as his whole body trembled from the stress and pain.

"Allen!" Lavi yelled out again.

"L-Lavi! Hurry! I don't know how long I can hold-"

Suddenly, the rock that he was holding onto fell away from the wall of the hole. Time froze for everyone at that moment. Allen tried his hardest to activate C.C. but to no avail. He didn't have enough energy to fuel the activation. He didn't even have enough to allow C.C. his human form. Everyone's screams echoed in his ears. Falling back into the dark hole, Allen still desperately tried to reach for something, anything that would save them. Just as suddenly as their fall had started, gloved hands clasped Allen's right hand before they had gotten too far.

"Chaoji!" Lavi cheered in the background.

Allen gritted his teeth as he looked up to his fellow exorcist. Sweat dripped from the Chinese's face, indicating he had had his innocence active for too long. His body couldn't handle it any longer and he was quickly losing his strength. Still, he tried to flare his innocence to bring back his strength to save the two of them. Allen didn't want to admit it but it hurt. Chaoji kept flaring his innocence, sending pulses of it through his hand. He could literally feel the Noah within him thrashing around in pain. Biting his lip to keep from screaming out with him, Allen fought to keep the Noah down.

"Allen!" Lavi exclaimed happily as he finally reached the hole.

"T-Take her first," Allen struggled to get out, "I-I can climb out afterwards."

"Right," Lavi nodded, setting O.K. down just for a moment as he pulled the woman free of the hole.

"Th-Thank you," Cecilia whispered as she was lifted out.

Allen let out a sigh before trying to lift his left arm to climb out himself. Instantly, he found something wrong. C.C.'s arm felt heavy, too heavy to lift. It felt just like it had years ago, years before he became an exorcist. It felt useless.

'C-C.C.!' Allen screamed through his link.

'I know, I know!' C.C. snapped back, 'I'm trying to run damage control right now, baka. We don't have any energy to spare to reconnect nerves to this arm for you to use. That is unless you'd rather die of blood loss.'

'N-Not really,' Allen shuddered.

"S-Sorry Chaoji but I can't move my arm," Allen weakly chuckled, "Can you help me up?"

'This is our chance Chaoji!' A.B. shouted, 'We can finally get rid of the Noah right here and now!'

Chaoji and Allen locked eyes for a brief moment before Chaoji flared his innocence strongly. Allen let out a blood curdling scream as pain shot down his arm. He no longer gripped the hands that held his wrist firmly. The skin of his right arm decending to his body quickly changed to a charcoal coloration.

'Fuck!' C.C. cured as he tried to clear out Allen's system with a surge of power, doing nothing more but adding to his wielder's pain, 'Stop it you bastard! You're causing the Noah to stir!'

Chaoji watched in a strange sense of awe as Allen's skin slowly changed color. Slowly, he began to loosen his grip on the boy's wrist. Pained and terrified silver searched the Chinese's face in desperation.

"I don't help traitors," Chaoji whispered just loud enough for the curse teen to hear.

Then he let go…

* * *

It was completely dark. The ground was a mess of jagged rocks and random body parts of akuma. Water from somewhere above trickled down at a constant slow, annoying pace. A seemingly lifeless body of a white haired teen laid in the middle of it all.

'Come on baka! Wake up!' C.C. pleaded through the link, 'You've got to wake up to summon a gate so we can get you out of here.'

The cursed teen didn't even twitch. His breathing was light and shallow, barely even there. Precious blood flowed out of too many wounds for C.C. to patch.

'Allen! Come on, you're too stubborn to let this be the thing that does you in!' C.C. shouted, desperately reaching out to other pieces, 'You've got to hang on!'

'He's very weak,' a new, deep voice sounded through the link, 'All those akuma and your so called "comrade" did quite a number on him, didn't they?'

'Neah!' C.C. gasped, 'I don't know if I should be happy that I can hear you or not right now.'

'Depends,' Neah sighed, 'Did you want that pineapple haired jerk to kill me?'

'You know that I don't,' C.C. growled, 'I haven't forgotten our agreement. Why would I try to kill you when that would mean killing Allen as well?'

'Just double checking,' Neah stated, 'Doesn't look too good for the idiot, does it?'

'I can't get him to wake up,' C.C. stated, 'And there's too many wounds. I can't seal them all.'

'It doesn't help that his energy reserves are completely gone otherwise you might have been able to change into your human form, or at the very least activated yourself and pulled us out of here,' Neah sighed again, 'We're in quite a pickle.'

C.C. sighed as well, 'I've done all I can do. Right now, if I take any more of my concentration off of baka to try and reach other pieces, some of the wounds might reopen and he might bleed out faster.'

'So what are you suggesting?' Neah asked, a little on edge.

'I'm asking what can you do to save Allen,' C.C. nearly growled, 'I can't do anything but I know that you can.'

Neah was silent for a moment, '…If I allow my power to fill his body fully, but do it slowly so it doesn't shock his system anymore or cause your powers to try and reject me, I might be able to summon a gate.'

'How slow is "slowly"?' C.C. asked.

'It'll take me about an hour if I don't want to kill the kid,' Neah explained, 'Two if you want me to be able to easily dissipate my power the second we get back to the Order. Even then, it'll take me at least an hour to rid his system of most my power. A day for his body to get over the strain of it being there.'

'How long would it take to get rid of it if you just took an hour?' C.C. questioned.

'That would take me at the very least four hours to do so without hurting the kid any more than he already is,' Neah said, 'No matter what I do, as soon as we get to the Order, the kid's going to be put under lock down for a while.'

'Why?' C.C. demanded.

'Why do you think, idiot?' Neah growled, 'If I fill his weakened body with my power, he's going to show some signs of it. And what do you think those idiots at the Order will do if they see that?'

'Damn it all…man I hate Central…' C.C. grumbled, '…What if you opened the gate above his bed? If you do it there, he can hide out until he doesn't look like one of your kind.'

'I can try but there's no guarantee that I'll be able to do so,' Neah stated, doubt clear in his voice, 'Once I fill him with enough of my power, I only have a five second window to open and close the gate. If I take any longer, that piece of you in his heart will act up and really cause problems.'

'True,' C.C. sighed, 'You and I really need to rethink our agreement one of these days, you know? I never thought that if it got out that Allen was your host while being my wielder at the same time that there would be people like Chaoji who refuse to see him for who he is instead of what he is…'

'There will always be people like that,' Neah said, tone sounding as if he were shaking his head, 'But it doesn't help that Chaoji has a pretty closed mind already. Even before all of this got out, he didn't like the kid because he thought that he was a traitor anyway for wanting to help Tyki. Heck, even I was stunned that the kid's heart was so big that he wanted to save the guy that nearly killed him.'

'Yeah…Good thing he did though because without it, we would have lost BaKanda, as he calls him, and vampire boy along with the use of the ark,' C.C. chuckled, 'Not to mention he would have never broken passed critical point either.'

'Back to the situation at hand though, there's one other problem that we need to solve before we actually go through with it,' Neah said.

'What?' C.C. asked.

'If I do manage to get him to his room, after the hour passes and we don't have to worry so much about everyone seeing the signs of my power in him, how do we get him out to get treatment?' Neah asked, knowing that the innocence had forgotten that they had yet to successfully awaken Allen.

'Um…Timcampy maybe?' C.C. tried.

'No, Timcampy stayed back this time, surprisingly enough,' Neah sighed.

C.C. sighed, 'I guess I won't have much else of a choice but to reach out for help. Hopefully O.K. or Mugen will be close enough I won't have to reach out too far.'

'Well, I better get started then. You just keep the kid alive for the next three hours and we should be good,' Neah chuckled.

'We should be good he says,' C.C. snorted, turning his attention fully back to trying to stop his wielder's bleeding, 'I really hope that you don't get an infection because of this. If you do, boy are you going to develop a hate for hospitals.'

Slowly, the seconds molded into minutes and the minutes passed into an hour. Time passed so incredibly slow that C.C. almost thought that Miranda and T.R. had shown up. For the full first hour, C.C. held out hope that someone would find them, praying that it would be Lavi or at least like someone that wouldn't think the worse if they saw the charcoal color changing skin. But after thirty minutes of waiting, even the innocence gave up holding onto that shred of hope. By this time, he had finally managed to close all the wounds on Allen's body, at least the major ones. Now all he had to do was to try and keep the boy's heart beat under control as Neah's powers slowly filled him. It was during this time that C.C. found out that Neah, despite being known as the musician of the Noah family, did not appreciate music.

'_My bonnie lies over the ocean; My bonnie lies over the sea~!_' C.C. sang, rather badly…or actually, extremely bad, 'My bonnie lies over the ocean-'

'Stop it! Just stop it already!' Neah cried out, 'I swear if I hear anything coming out of your end of this damn link that I will stop what I'm doing and say to heck with it!'

'What do you expect me to do! Baka here isn't in immediate danger anymore, I'm so completely stressed out that it's putting a strain on me, and you're not saying anything!' C.C. complained, 'I'm sorry if I want to try and pass the time!'

'I have no problem with you trying to keep your short attention span entertained but for the love of all that _**is**_ right in this world, leave my poor ears out of it!' Neah snapped.

After that little outburst, both remained quiet for the last hour as they waited to return to the Order. Well, quiet for the most part. Neah was grumbling, rather irritated while C.C. just pouted on his end.

'Well, here goes nothing,' Neah suddenly said, startling C.C. from his sulking session.

'Wha?' C.C. sounded just before a bright white gate opened beneath the boy.

With a somewhat painful thump, the three in one body landed on Allen's bed with the exception of the boy's left leg which hung over limply. The gate above their head quickly disappeared as C.C. began to notice the strain put on his wielder's heart due to the colliding powers. With the gate gone, Neah began to pull back his power.

'We did it!' C.C. cheered, 'We're back safely…well, as safely as this baka will allow.'

'Now here's to hoping that nobody noticed the sound of us crash landing in here,' Neah grumbled.

'They're probably too worried about finding us by using the actual gate that Allen left to get to that town to be worried about checking up here,' C.C. sighed, 'But anyway, now we wait.'

* * *

_Fast forward an hour…_

_._

"I swear when I get my hands on that little pineapple head, I'm going to rip him to shreds!" Mugen fumed as she and her wielder stalked down the hallways, "I can't believe that he just let Allen fall like that!"

"Che," Kanda sounded, though it should be mentioned that even he was a little worried about the resident Moyashi.

"Then poor Lavi got knocked out by one of the stray level twos as they were finishing them up so that they could go look for him," Mugen grumbled, "O.K. barely managed to transform back into his human form beforehand to keep his idiot from falling off a roof…"

Kanda's scowl deepened. Lavi had been carried in an hour earlier with the news of what had happened to Allen. O.K. had been carrying Lavi with one arm while dragging Chaoji with the other. The second they stepped into the Order, the redheaded innocence tossed Chaoji in the middle of the group of exorcists that had been gathered to go out and help them. He didn't even watch as the faces of the other exorcists grew more and more angry at the Chinese man as he retold them what he did. Then he simply headed off to the medical wing with Lavi in hand as Lenalee proceeded to slap one of her many "fans".

"Dammit C.C.! Where are you!" Mugen snapped for the nth time since O.K.'s abrupt return, "Why can't I find our link?!"

"Maybe he's busy doing something," Kanda pointed out.

"That's more than likely the case," Mugen sighed, "If Allen's badly hurt, then he would have to focus more on caring for him than trying to keep his link up."

"…Baka Moyashi," Kanda growled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "If it isn't one thing, it's another."

"Yeah…" Mugen nodded in agreement before she suddenly stiffened.

"What is it?" Kanda questioned, instantly on guard.

"I don't believe it," Mugen whispered to herself.

"Don't believe what?" Kanda asked before Mugen dragged him through the corridors by his ponytail, "Oi! Tell me what's going on!"

"I swear that man is going to be the death of me one of these days," Mugen growled, releasing Kanda's hair in favor of knocking down a familiar Moyashi's bedroom door.

"What are you doi-" Kanda started to yell before his eyes settled on what lied on the bed, "Moyashi!"

"Dear lord child," Mugen whispered as she rushed to his side, "No wonder C.C. couldn't reach anyone through a link. He was too busy trying keep you alive."

"How the hell did he get here?" Kanda asked as he hurried inside.

"Allen must have summoned a gate sometime while he was conscious," Mugen responded, gently rubbing his left cheek, "What happened to your eye child?"

Kanda stared at the figure on the bed. Had he ever seen the Moyashi in such a pitiful state? Blood, both his and many akuma's, soaked through his shredded clothing and snow white hair. Dozens of cuts covered any uncovered skin. His right leg was obviously broken and his right arm didn't look much better. The gash on his left thigh was sickening to look at, even for Kanda. The boy's boots looked as if they had been stabbed all the way through, by what, the stoic samurai didn't want to know. His pale skin was nearly as white as his hair should have been. Growling, the older exorcist turned back for the door and glared down the halls, spotting several scientists and finders moping about.

"Oi! Go get the Head Nurse!" Kanda snapped.

"H-huh?" the group blinked.

"I said go get the Head Nurse! And one of you go find Komui!" Kanda ordered.

"Wh-Why?" one of the finders asked.

"Because Allen Walker is in here, idiot!" Kanda shouted before returning to his innocence's side.

"Be careful Kanda," Mugen giggled slightly, "Someone might think that you actually cared about Allen."

"Shut up," Kanda growled, running over what little medical treatments he knew that would help his fellow exorcist, "We can't afford to lose any more exorcists, you know this."

"Whatever you say Kanda," Mugen smirked a little, "Whatever you say."

It wasn't long before Komui, Reever, and Johnny came crashing into the room followed by a distraught Lenalee. Komui and Reever were instantly at Allen's side, trying to determine what they could do to help move him to the hospital wing while the other two merely stood in the doorway crying. Kanda truly wanted to yell at them to man up. Tears wasn't what the Moyashi needed at the moment. What he needed was everyone to get their butts in gear and actually get him the care he needed. Mugen held onto the boy's left arm, obviously trying to help C.C. keep calm now that Allen was in a new sort of danger. C.C. had been what was keeping Allen alive up until then. The second he went into surgery to stitch up and fix his body, C.C. was going to have to pull back, putting the cursed teen's live in danger all over again.

Finally, the Head Nurse came rushing in with a stretcher followed by several other doctors and nurses. With a quick shuffle, the many hands lifted the limb body from the bed and onto the stretcher. As quickly as they came, the medical crew was out racing through the halls, leaving the rest to let reality soak in.

Allen Walker was back but at the brink of death. And this time, it wasn't because of an enemy attack.

* * *

_**Mizu: Chaoji really does have the kind of close-minded personality that I love to hate. I mean, come on! Everyone in the Order knew of Allen's hatred of harming humans! They knew that he had a hard to with the Noah just because of that part of him. It really isn't that difficult to see him wanting to save one because he knows that that Noah has a life outside of tormenting them. And if that wasn't enough for you, think of all the good that came from Allen not going through Road's gate that day.**_

_**Lavi: I think you've made your point, Mizu…**_

_**Mizu: Right…Oh! Before I forget! I just wanted to state something here a bit of a spoiler for future chapters.**_

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_***whispers sneakily* Chaoji isn't a TRUE accommodator...**_

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_**Anyway, remember that I love all reviews and suggestions~! I don't really know when I'll get to work on this one next because life is becoming hectic again but I'll see what I can come up with, k? Ciao for now~!**_


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